Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, called on Fox News to fire Jesse Watters after the host told a crowd at a Turning Point USA's AmericaFest conference to go after him and "ambush" him.
That's terrible that he said that. Fauci told CNN that he was going to go. Whatever network he's on is not going to help him. That's crazy. The guy should be fired immediately.
Watters encouraged the crowd to ask Fauci questions about the "gain-of-function" funding claim. Watters went through a scenario.
You have to ambush a guy like Fauci. This is how you ambush people. "You have to be respectful because they'll turn the tables on you and you can't have it blow up in your face," he said.
He told the audience to record Fauci's responses after giving examples of questions to ask.
You have to go in for the kill shot. The shot? With an ambush? It was deadly. Watters said that he didn't see it coming.
He said that Dr. Fauci funded risky research at a Chinese lab that sprung the world's current epidemic. You know why people don't trust you. He is dead! He is no longer alive. He's done!
December 21, 2021.
Watters was referring to claims that the National Institutes of Health funded research at a lab.
In May of 2021, the head of theNIH released a statement saying that neither theNIH nor NIAID have ever approved any grant that would have supported "gain-of-function" research on coronaviruses that would have increased their transmissibility or lethality for humans.
The World Health Organization needs to investigate the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses, according to the National Institute of Health. We urge the WHO to begin the second phase of their study without delay, working with a cross-regional coalition of 13 countries.
Watters told the crowd to record the interviews and send them to conservative outlets.
Watters said he had authorized it. Make sure it's legal.
Fox News defended Watters and said his statements were taken out of context.
Fox News said that it was clear that Jesse Watters was using a metaphor for asking hard-hitting questions to Dr. Fauci about gain-of-function research.
Fauci has been the target of conspiracy theories, hate mail, and death threats as the public health face of the US response to COVID-19.
Fauci told CNN that he has never done anything to encourage people to practice good public-health practices. There is a guy out there who says that people should kill me. What craziness is there in society today?
Fauci has been targeted before by those on Fox News. Fauci was compared to a Nazi doctor on Fox News.
Fauci told Chris that the comments made about the people who died in the concentration camps were "disgusting" and an insult to them.
