Tucker Carlson does not think Dr. Anthony Fauci is qualified to “run the country”. Fairly, the conservative Fox News host notes that Dr. Fauci is “a decent man” that “doesn’t want to hurt America”.
But just as fairly, Carlson lists the 79-year-old doctor’s limitations. And it is those limitations that temper any recommendations that he makes.
Tucker Carlson: “Fauci Got it ‘Wrong on the Coronavirus”
Carlson’s monologue describes the current situation as the “largest and most disruptive response to a national emergency in our lifetimes”.
He was referring to how many early gloom-and-doom predictions about the coronavirus crisis are worthless today. And that matters, because Dr. Fauci is no longer merely an expert in infectious diseases. Today, he is involved in “crafting national policy” as it pertains to COVID-19.
But although Dr. Fauci possesses “the credentials for the job”, Tucker Carson pointed out how often he was wrong. For example, in January, Fauci said COVID-19 was “not a major threat”.
But “Now, he’s demanding that the federal government quarantine the entire country,” Carlson said. The biggest problem? Dr. Fauci bases his recommendations on predictions and models that are “terrible at best”.
Poor models drive poor decisions. “Here’s the problem with getting these numbers so horribly wrong. These numbers have driven massively disruptive government policy,” he continued.
“Our entire national shutdown is based on the fear that coronavirus patients would overwhelm hospitals. And outside of parts of New York City, that has not happened.”
Dr. Fauci Misses The Bigger Picture
Fauci often shows resistance to re-opening the U.S. economy any time soon, and the difference between his philosophy and that of the White House is stark. While President Trump is eager to restore life and business as usual, Dr. Fauci wants to proceed much, much slower. The President says, “We have to get back to work.” Fauci wants to extend social distancing and business closures even longer.
About that possibility, Carlson said, “We can only guess at the social and economic destruction they might wreak, but it would be profound…More than ten million Americans have already lost their jobs. Imagine another year of this.”
The problem with some of Dr. Fauci’s suggestions, Carlson says, is that he views everything “through the narrow lens of his profession”. His focus is far tighter than that of just another doctor, medical professional, or even infectious disease specialist. He is also a public health official. And that colors EVERYTHING he says or even thinks.
But as Tucker Carlson points out, Dr. Fauci is “not an economist”. He does not overly concern himself with how his recommendations affect corporations and small businesses. He often considers the economic cost to the individual even less.
Unlike the average American, Dr. Fauci is well-off, and as Carlson put it, he is not “someone who fears being unemployed himself”. This is the bigger picture that he misses when he blithely talks about extending things for another year.
Tucker Carlson was correct when he said, “That would be national suicide, and yet that’s what Anthony Fauci is suggesting, at least”