After Fauci Smackdown, Rand Paul Fundraised On Fox News

POSTED BY ELLEN  ON JANUARY 12, 2022 · 

After Dr. Anthony Fauci blasted Sen. Rand Paul for spreading lies that have endangered the Fauci family for the sake of fundraising, Paul ran to Fox News – yep, to fundraise off the encounter.

The fiery exchange occurred in a Senate hearing yesterday. Paul accused Fauci of “catastrophic” errors and “an arrogance that justifies in his mind using government resources to smear and to destroy the reputation of other scientists who disagree with him.” This, from the guy who deliberately exposed his own colleagues to COVID-19 and who was suspended from YouTube for promoting the medical disinformation that masks don’t help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Paul’s larger goal was to argue that there was “no way” the virus originated in a Chinese lab and to suggest Fauci was engaged in some kind of cover up about his supposed role in its real origins, a right-wing meme.

Fauci wasn’t having any of it from Sen. Death. After a bit of back and forth, he lowered the boom, which you can watch below. He accused Paul of distracting from the real purpose of the committee, which was “to get our arms around” the pandemic and of ginning up anger against Fauci as a fundraising ploy – which has caused death threats to Fauci and harassment of his family.

That must have really gotten under Death Paul’s skin because he ran to Fox News not once, but twice. First, Paul visited the “news” show, America’s Newsroom. He joined Laura Ingraham’s more prolonged attacks on Fauci that evening.

Not surprisingly, America's Newsroom host Bill Hemmer didn’t mention the death threats Paul and colleague Tucker Carlson have instigated. That's not surprising given that Fox host Jesse Watters was just rewarded by the network with a primetime show after talking about taking a “deadly” “kill shot” at Fauci. Nor did Hemmer mention Paul’s deliberately risky behavior nor his spreading of COVID disinformation.

Instead, Sen. Death got a platform to complain, unchallenged, “we are doing way too many tests” and “before you know it, we’ve got a lockdown.” In fact, Hemmer all but asked for more attacks on Fauci, saying that after two years of the pandemic, “you can’t get a test” and “the therapies have not been pursued at the level that they should have.” Then, feigning curiosity, Hemmer asked, “Why is it so personal between you two?” That, of course, was nothing more than an opening for further attacks on Fauci from Paul.

And fundraising! Paul said, “I’m proud of the fact that people can go to [he gave his website address] and yes, we are raising money to fire Fauci.” That was followed by a long tirade against him. Paul concluded with a pitch for his re-election: “Yeah, it’s a political thing because whoever wins the election will make the decision on whether he stays or goes or whether we investigate where the virus came from in the beginning.”

FACT CHECK: While it’s true Paul is up for re-election this year and that GOP control of the House or Senate would inevitably lead to the kind of COVID investigations Sen. Death is salivating for, neither Paul nor his fellow Republicans have the power to fire Dr. Fauci.

Hemmer didn’t point that out to his viewers, even though they may have been duped into believing Paul's pitch.

But we, the voters, can fire Sen. Death Paul. A good guy, named Charles Booker, is running against him. You can check him out and join the fight here.

You can watch Fauci’s smackdown of Paul as well as his subsequent Fox fundraising below, from the January 11, 2021 America’s Newsroom. And don't forget: This dangerous demonization of one of the world's most respected infectious disease specialists is bankrolled by Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch.