Spinning Fauci like a toy top

Dr. Anthony Fauci is the numero uno of medical authorities according to the news media.  Not only do they “report” on his comments, but they promote him as the most dependable, knowledgeable and accurate authority on the Covid-19 pandemic.  He is cast as the national hero.

The second most prominent authority is Dr. Deborah Birx.  This commentary focuses on Fauci, but it should be noted that what she says is mostly in line with Fauci.  There is not a sliver of distance in their public pronouncements regarding the Covid-19 virus or President Trump.

I follow Fauci closely – and generally agree with his advice and assessments – but not so much what the media says he said or meant.  By following him closely, I mean I listen to his full comments – not just the edited and out-of-context snippets you see on the news.  And therein lies the problem.

When I listen to Fauci I get one impression.  When I listen to the reports of his comments, I see a totally opposite story.

If you watch CNN and MSNBC – and all those New York City/Washington, D.C. who comprise the so-called “panels of experts” – you have undoubtedly heard over and over again … and again … that President Trump said in January that the Covid-19 virus would not impact too seriously on America.  He was not making that up.  That is what the leading medical experts said – including Fauci.

You also heard it reported that Trump said everyone in America who WANTS a test can get one – and that was simply untrue.  What does not get reported is that Trump said those who NEED the test can get one – and that was absolutely true.

If you were to check the record, you would see that Fauci, himself, said that only people exhibiting symptoms should get the test – and we had sufficient supplies to do that.  In one interview, Fauci was asked if he had gotten tested – since he is one of those in the high-risk group.  He was emphatic in stating that he did not get a test and would not get one because he has no symptoms.

In a more recent anti-Trump narrative, the press is stating that Trump is setting a bad example by not wearing a mask.  I have yet to see  Fauci with a mask.  In fact, in an interview, he specifically said that masks do not protect the wearer from getting Covid-19 – but they can help prevent a person with the virus from spreading it.  In fact, Fauci recommended against wearing masks if you were not symptomatic in order not to divert the supply of masks from those who need it.

To this day, we do not wear masks to ward-off Covid-19, we wear them just in case we have the virus and do not know it – are non-symptomatic.

For weeks, the media has been promoting conflict between Fauci and Trump.  That is because they cannot sell their anti-Trump rhetoric if Fauci and Trump are on the same page.  Through selective use of video clips, the media dishonestly reports a conflict that does not seem to exist.

Every time reports give Fauci a leading question about his relationship with Trump, Fauci disappoints them.  On several occasions, Fauci has said that there is no divergence in the views expressed by the President and his own.  He has said that he is satisfied that Trump follows the advice of the medical authorities – the advice of the White House Task Force.

Fauci draws a distinction between Trump’s more aspirational views and Fauci’s own professional predictions.  BUT … and that is a big but … despite Trump’s hopes, the President does follow the more restrictive recommendations.

In his most recent appearance on Capitol Hill, Fauci again reaffirmed that he and Trump have a good working relationship.  It is likely that you did not see that “snippet” being aired on CNN or MSNBC.

The press seized on the statement by Fauci in which he said it will lead to more deaths if we open too soon.  That was played against Trump’s expressed desire to re-open America as soon as possible.  What is put forth as a fundamental disagreement is not at all.  In different ways, both men have been in agreement that the nation must open as soon as possible.

They both agree that it will be a gradual roll-out rather than – as Fauci put it – “a flip of a light switch.” Contrary to the political narrative of the Democrats and new media (but I repeat myself), both Fauci and Trump have talked about a strategic rollout.  In fact, Fauci has not disagreed with the current level of restriction easing but just warned against going too fast.

In one interview CNN’s Jake Tapper, Fauci said that not closing down more quickly caused more people to die.  That comment was seized upon by the elitist media as a break between Trump and the good doctor – and that Fauci was saying that Trump caused unnecessary deaths.  What was not as widely and repetitiously reported was Fauci’s later statement that he had misspoken and given a wrong impression.  He did not lay any blame on Trump.  No matter.  That initial snippet continues to be used by the media as evidence of a schism that did not … and does not … exits.

Fauci, himself, had suggested many of the dates in which restrictions might be lifted in certain states and certain regions.  He has not pointed to a single state which he says is moving too early or too fast.

It would appear that Fauci came in second in reports of a person Trump was about to fire.  First place is held by the never fired Special Counsel Robert Mueller.  As the press canonizes Fauci to draw a false comparison to Trump, they forget that it is Trump who appointed Fauci (and Birx) to the White House Task Force – and it is Trump who has given Fauci (and Birx) the national platform on a daily basis.

On the other hand, it is the east coast media that had hypocritically called for Americans to listen to the doctors even as they censored the White House daily Coronavirus briefings – eventually calling on the profession to not even cover them.  In some cases, they covered Trump’s opening remarks and then switched back to the studio for a round of anti-Trump analysis as Fauci, Birx and other medical authorities were speaking.  They did not want us to hear from the doctors after all.  They only want us to hear their partisan condensed interpretations (spin) of what was said.

There are times, however, when even the anti-Trump media questions Fauci’s professional integrity – at least indirectly.  When it is not even possible to spin Fauci’s statements against trump – when it is impossible to force a wedge between the doctor and the President, the media claims – without a scintilla of evidence — that Fauci was only saying such things because of pressure from the President.  He could not express his honest opinion.

So, which is it?  Is Fauci a man who is honest in his statements – can speak truth to power – or is Fauci a “yes man” for Trump.  You cannot have it both ways.

As one might expect, Trump – with his responsibility for both the health issues and the economic issues – will have a differing opinions than Fauci on some issues involving the return to normal.  Fauci sees the health issues as the primary problem with the economic disaster as a necessary side effect.  Their differences appear to be marginal if you really listen to what each of them is saying – and ignore the interpretations of the media and their left-wing panelists.

In fact, Fauci is a man who speaks the truth.  The problem is that the media is so hell-bent on bringing down a President who they obsessively hate that they will not report the truth.

So, there ‘tis.