This is an excerpt from the New York Post.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed Twitter CEO Elon Musk Monday for what she called his “disgusting” tweets calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be prosecuted for allegedly lying to Congress and potentially causing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Musk, the world’s richest man, tweeted Sunday, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.” He clarified later that he was referring, in part, to Fauci allegedly perjuring himself by denying that his agency funded risky “gain of function” research in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began.
“These personal attacks that we have been seeing are dangerous, on Dr. Fauci and other public health professionals as well. They are disgusting and they are divorced from reality. And we will continue to call that out,” Jean-Pierre said at her regular briefing.
“These are incredibly dangerous — these personal attacks that we are seeing. Dr. Fauci has served under seven Republican and Democratic presidents, we cannot forget that. He has given his almost entire career to civil service,” she added.
“His work on infectious disease from HIV/AIDS to COVID has saved countless lives…. [and] we are fortunate that he has devoted his career and his life and his exceptional talent to America’s public health.”
Fauci, 81, is retiring this month after serving as the US government’s top infectious disease expert since 1984 and as President Biden’s chief medical adviser since last year. The longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will resign just before House Republicans retake power.
Musk also posted a meme Sunday depicting Fauci as the nefarious Grima Wormtongue from “The Lord of The Rings” whispering, “just one more lockdown, my king” in the ear of Biden — depicted as the aged and weakened King Theoden of Rohan.
Fauci has become one of the most polarizing public figures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 1.1 million Americans and at least 6.6 million people globally.
Democrats generally view Fauci as a responsible public servant and as a respected voice of caution, while Republicans have faulted him for inconsistent health guidance, including initially recommending against protective face masks, only to later urge wearing multiple masks.
