Posted on 07/15/2020 3:41:35 AM PDT by RandFan
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that any effort by the White House to undermine the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, would be unproductive as coronavirus cases surge across the country.
“Has he been right all the time? No. We don’t have a Dr. Fauci problem. We need to be focusing on doing things that get us where we need to go. So I have all the respect in the world for Dr. Fauci. I think any effort to undermine him is not going to be productive, quite frankly,” Graham told reporters Tuesday when asked about reports of the White House trying to discredit the infectious disease expert.
The senator also called Fauci one of the “smartest people” he knows.
Graham said the federal government should be working on a phase four response to the pandemic that focuses on unemployment benefits, testing capacity and aid to hospitals.
“That’s what I’d be focused on,” Graham said. “Getting in a contest with Dr. Fauci about whether he was right or wrong doesn’t move the ball forward because here’s where we are as a nation. The infection rate is going up. We shut the whole country down. It's time to reopen up smartly. It's time to go back to school. And we’re going to deal with the reality that we’re not as prepared as we need to be, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Graham was speaking to reporters in South Carolina after meeting with hospital officials.
He urged the public to follow recommendations from experts to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing in an effort to take the burden off of front-line workers as cases continue to increase.
Tensions between the White House and Fauci have recently escalated. Multiple outlets reported about a memo, first obtained by The Washington Post, that reportedly sought to undermine Fauci, citing comments he made about the pandemic that he later contradicted as the outbreak unfolded.
Other officials have openly attacked Fauci over his public health advice during the pandemic.
Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff for communications, shared a cartoon on his Facebook page on Sunday that depicted Fauci as a faucet flushing the U.S. economy down the drain with overzealous health guidance to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration’s testing czar, told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he respects Fauci but that Fauci is not “100 percent right.”
“And he also doesn't necessarily, and he admits that, have the whole national interest in mind,” Giroir said. “He looks at it from a very narrow public health point of view.”
President Trump also said last week in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that Fauci “has made a lot of mistakes.”
On Monday, Trump downplayed the existence of a rift with Fauci, telling reporters he has a “very good relationship” with the doctor.
"I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. I’ve had for a long time, right from the beginning," Trump told reporters at a White House event meant to highlight positive actions by police. "I find him to be a very nice person. I don’t always agree with him."
OK, Dr. Graham.
Linda and Fauci oughta get a room.
Has Fauci talked about protests yet? Or about how the average age has dropped down to 35 years?
i smell Grahams’ love for HIV over the USA.
Why would Graham chatter on about Fauci, as if he is the controlling authority and expert on the matter? He can’t or refuses to do his own job.
HIV is among the least contagious diseases in existence.
Two worms.
Graham is attracted to power and the elite so it’s no surprise to see him defending Fauci...
The old Graham returned. He can never keep up the Good Graham act up for an extended period of time.
Grahamnesty, your butt plug fell out again.
Trump is not undermining Fauci. He’s is rightfully ignoring him.
We have a Lindsey Graham problem.
If Fauci pretends that protests with their lack of social distancing and proper mask wearing didn’t contribute, then he is being unscientific and part of the problem.
I think that Linda is red pill resistant. Give him 2 and hope or better yet give him a boot.
that’s the most revolting suggestion i’ve ever heard
and coming from me that’s bad :)
Well, we actually DO have a Dr. Fauci problem.
We also have a Lindsey Graham problem.
In fact, President Trump has been plagued with problems, most of which created by the Democrats, the media, the so-called Republicans and people like you and Dr. Fauci, since the beginning. The impeachment circus was just one of them.
As he didn’t have enough with world issues, China, now the coronavirus, the collapsing state of violence, looting and murders throughout the land, et al.
If it were me, I think I’d be sitting in a corner sucking my thumb. LOL! The man is strong and clear.
Normal
We shut the whole country down.
Abnormal
Graham
Abnormal
Graham is a swamp creature and RINO. He tries to be a moderate but fails. He’s a lightweight liberal who has no understanding of where to stand on any given situation, so he invariably undermines the president probably without even meaning to.
Sounds like Linda won his primary.
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