Fox News host Tucker Carlson called Dr. Anthony Fauci a “fraud” during Friday night’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” after the White House coronavirus task member dodged a series of questions from Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.
Jordan grilled Fauci during a heated House subcommittee hearing exchange Friday on whether ongoing protests and demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd should be treated the same as churches in some states and banned to curb the spread of coronavirus.
After playing a clip of the exchange, Carlson compared Fauci’s unwillingness to weigh in on protests to a clip of the doctor urging governments to “be as forceful as possible” in getting people to wear masks.
“Oh, so he is willing to weigh in on specific responses,” Carlson said. “Government responses. What a fraud this guy is. Put on your mask. Get off your powerboat. Put on some goggles. Do it for public health. By the way, the consequences don’t matter. They are just inconveniences.”
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“Oh, we just have to do it. Really?” Carlson asked rhetorically after playing a clip of the White House coronavirus task force member calling coronavirus measures “inconvenient.”
“Fauci is 79, but maybe if he had like 22-year-old kids who were trying to make their way in this world in an economy that is headed down the tubes thanks largely to his recommendations, he would feel differently,” the Fox news host concluded. “It’s not merely an inconvenience when your economy collapses. It’s the end of the American Dream. That’s not a small thing. Maybe it’s worth it. Maybe it’s not, but if it is, then you probably shouldn’t take a pass on the question, are protests and riots okay? Unless you’re a total fraud, like a complete fraud.”
Fauci did express concern early June that recently-launched protests might be a “perfect set up” for the spread of coronavirus. (RELATED: ‘More Off Base Than Your Average Epidemiologist’: Tucker Cites Dr. Fauci’s ‘Buffoon Level’ Mistakes, Questions ‘Powerful’ Role)
“It is the perfect set up for the spread of the virus in the sense of creating some blips which might turn into some surges,” he said in an interview on Washington D.C. radio station WTOP. “There certainly is a risk.”