We need to talk about the recent waves made by a prominent figure in the COVID-19 saga. You guessed it – former NIH Director Anthony Fauci appeared on CBS’s Stephen Colbert show promoting his new book. While that’s fair game, what raises eyebrows is the lack of honest examination of the past actions he has taken regarding the pandemic.
Colbert was quick to shield Fauci from any form of critique shouting, “Politicization of science is dangerous!”, a painfully typical move in today’s fractured media scene. “Dangerous.” Really, Stephen? What Fauci sums up as “hostility” from Republicans, others could interpret as rightful questioning of his questionable decisions during his tenure as NIH Director.
What stood out clearly during the conversation was Fauci’s stark refusal to acknowledge any form of personal accountability for his responses to the pandemic. He painted a picture of a perfect professional caught in the crossfire of politics. Oh, and he blamed divisiveness and hostility, primarily from Republicans. His lamentations about the “lack of civility and respect,” seemed less like political analysis and more like a victim card.
Your job was to guide us through the pandemic, Mr. Fauci, not playing politics. Remember when you contradicted President Trump publicly because “he was saying things that were not correct?” Apparently, only the former president had the potential for error, not the NIH director who admitted to sprinkling white lies around when he deemed it at his whim.
Colbert even took up a chapter from Fauci’s book called ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ – an apparent reflection on his relationship with Trump. Fauci claimed he got along fine with the President until Trump started pushing for the pandemic to end. Here we have Fauci contradicting the President, not based on scientific evidence but personal disagreement.
Under the cloak of respect for the Presidency, Fauci justifies his public disagreement with the President and conveniently forgets his role in the opposition against his own team. The one, he was supposed to be a part of, not to conspire against. He blamed his historically bad relationship with the staff on President Trump. Meanwhile, Colbert sat through the interview, totally in-line with the narrative being woven, not questioning any of it.
Distilling down all the unnecessary dramatics, we have a former NIH Director devoid of any form of self-reflection, an unchallenged single-sided narrative from a professional who refused responsibility, and a disturbing lack of journalistic integrity on Colbert’s part.
In conclusion, it’s vital to draw attention to the lack of objectivity in setting such narratives. There should be a robust challenge to potential misinformation from all sides of the political spectrum, especially from those in positions as esteemed as Fauci’s. The power vested in such roles must come with the integrity to accept criticism, question past decisions, and provide truthful and transparent guidance to the public. The public deserves nothing less.
