Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, was questioned by Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday about why he believes he has "become a polarizing figure" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Fox News Sunday, Wallace asked the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases if he thinks there's anything he has done that may have "contributed" to him becoming a "controversial" figure over time. Fauci responded that he couldn't "think of anything" but that "I'm sure some people will."
He went on to say that there are people who "deny reality that's looking them straight in the eye," and it's "understandable" that those people "don't particularly care for me."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Sometimes the truth becomes inconvenient for some people, so they react against me," Fauci said. "That just is what it is. There's not much I can do about that."
During the appearance on Fox News Sunday, Fauci also criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) recent executive order prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, saying, "From a public health standpoint, that is really unfortunate."
-
October 9 editorial cartoonsCartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include common political ground over the Epstein files, a new pledge for ICE agents, Bad Bunny, and more
-
Five policies from the Tory conferenceIn Depth Party leader Kemi Badenoch has laid out the Conservative plan for a potential future government
-
A House of Dynamite: a ‘nail-biting’ nuclear-strike thrillerThe Week Recommends ‘Virtuoso talent’ Kathryn Bigelow directs a ‘fast-paced’ and ‘tense’ ‘symphony of dread’
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
