Anthony Fauci reveals ‘serious threats’ to himself, his family amid pandemic
Anthony Fauci has revealed a chilling personal consequence of his role as the nation’s top infectious disease expert amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fauci revealed Thursday that he’s received “serious threats” to himself, his wife and daughters ― requiring them to receive security ― because of his public role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and adviser to President Donald Trump on the White House’s coronavirus task force.
“I’ve seen a side of society that I guess is understandable but it’s a little bit disturbing,” Fauci told CNN political commentator David Axelrod on the latest episode of “The Axe Files” podcast.
“I mean, really? Is this the United States of America?” he asked.
Fauci’s warnings about and advice on tackling the public health crisis ― including advocating for social distancing measures and the wearing of face masks ― has repeatedly drawn the ire of the president and his allies.
It prompted thousands of public health experts to sign an open letter to Trump describing it as a “dangerous distraction.”
Fauci compared the vile and threatening abuse he receives now to the hate mail that could be pushed aside as “stupid people saying stupid things” when he led the agency’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
“It’s really a magnitude different now,” he told Axelrod. “As much as people inappropriately, I think, make me somewhat of a hero... there are people who get really angry at thinking I’m interfering with their life because I’m pushing a public health agenda.”
The hostility against public health issues was “difficult to process,” Fauci added.
Check out the full episode of “The Axe Files” here.
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