Speaking on “Fox and Friends,” Ben Domenech, the co-founder and publisher of The Federalist who is also married to The View co-host Meghan McCain, criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, saying he is “sick and tired” of him “feeling that he can just weigh in on any kind of matter socially and have a reaction from America’s media and from politicians.”
Fauci went on to brand Fauci as an “out of his depth bureaucrat” but did not provide evidence or data to support his claims.
Fauci “is completely out of his depth when it comes to almost any issue unrelated to this pandemic and even within the pandemic he’s out of his depth when it comes to a lot of his intonations and his weighing ins,” Domenech said, adding that Fauci was “wrong” about school closings, lockdowns, and mask-wearing.
“Look, I’m not trying to diminish this guy. He’s someone who obviously has a lot more expertise than I do when it comes to medical affairs,” Domenech continued. “But the fact that he’s been built up by the media to his point where he’s weighing in on everything like he’s some kind of vaunted saint who can do no wrong, it’s really gone beyond the point of where we need to reel this back and say, ‘Hey, just remember: You’re a bureaucrat. You work for us. Not the other way around.'”
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You can watch Domenech’s interview below.
"Look, I'm not trying to diminish this guy. He's someone who obviously has a lot more expertise than I do when it comes to medical affairs. But" pic.twitter.com/4ceWjK273s
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) April 20, 2021
Dr. Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made recommendations for school closures and lockdowns based on available science; these guidances are accessible via the CDC’s website HERE and HERE. The study of lockdown effectiveness in Italy during the height of the pandemic last spring notes that Italy’s “national lockdown put in place as of March 11 to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy brought Rt below 1 in most regions and provinces within 2 weeks.” The United States has never instituted a nationwide lockdown, however amid concerns about constitutionality, and Covid-19 was never actually contained, allowed to spread in large part due to the Trump administration’s downplaying of the virus.
Domenech is also incorrect about the effectiveness of mask-wearing and, by extension, social distancing.
The CDC has been clear about how both precautions can significantly curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“Social distancing should be practiced in combination with other everyday preventive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including wearing masks, avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands, and frequently washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds,†the CDC says on its website.
Domenech appeared on “Fox and Friends” a couple of days after Fauci said the recent spate of mass shootings around the country is a public health issue.
“As a public health person, I think you can’t run away from that,” Fauci said on CNN‘s “State of the Union.”
“I mean, in this last month, it’s just been horrifying,” he added after host Dana Bash asked him if gun violence is a “public health emergency.” “How can you say that’s not a public health issue?”
Organizations like the American Public Health Association have emphasized that addressing the gun violence epidemic in the United States would be well served by a public health approach.
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
