Dr. Anthony Fauci is under renewed scrutiny after a Freedom of Information Act released thousands of his emails from the early days of the pandemic, raising questions about Fauci’s cozy relationship with China and conflicting messaging on masks, among other controversies. But Fauci’s friends at The View refused to criticize the public figure, and attacked Republicans, instead.
Moderator Joy Behar set up the comment by jeering at the GOP:
"The new rallying cry from the GOP is ‘but his emails’ after thousands of Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails were released. Republicans say they found their smoking gun that he misled the public and downplayed theories that covid spread from a leak in a Wuhan lab," Behar stated.
She quickly dismissed the “Republican rage” “picking on Fauci”:
Well, you know, I hate to say it but Fauci's former boss Donald Trump told people to ingest infection and suggested sunlight and warm weather would make it all go away. Why isn't the GOP upset about Trump’s mishandling of the crisis? Why are they picking on Fauci, Anna? Is all this Republican rage of emails warranted, do you think?
Friday co-host Ana Navarro also dismissed any criticism as a “distraction.”
“I think Republicans have chosen Fauci to be the target of their ire and to be a distraction,” she sneered before defending the doctor as being under a lot of stress: “Some of these emails are from last year when Fauci was drinking out of a water hose. He was drinking out of a fire hydrant. Understand, He was in the midst of dealing with the virus.”
Co-host Sara Haines also didn’t find anything controversial about the emails. In fact, she thought they made Fauci look good.
I kept waiting for something because the headlines kept saying now do you feel different about Dr. Fauci? I kept diving and I just I didn't find anything that jumped out as unexpected. He was very consistent in his emails with the timing of the emails and what he was saying publicly. If these emails revealed he was saying one thing publicly and one thing privately, that would be more alarming. Um, but what jumped out at me, we got more of the same. He was very deliberate, very kind. I actually, it kinda reaffirmed my take on him...
Guest host Rachel Lindsay, a former contestant on ABC’s The Bachelorette and Extra TV correspondent was the last to comment but she fit right in with the liberal hosts. She called Republicans “ridiculous” and smeared any attempt to hold the nation’s most famous medical expert on this virus accountable, a “witch hunt:”
I absolutely don't see a smoking gun here. The Freedom of Information Act is intended to increase transparency in the name of public interest. It's not supposed to be a witch hunt, which is exactly what's happening here with Dr. Fauci. I mean they keep reaching and reaching and reaching trying to find something here, and there is nothing.
But witch hunts were OK when the left was doing it. She slammed Senate Republican “hypocrites” for not going along with the Democrats’ witch hunt against President Trump in his two impeachment trials and for opposing the creation of a January 6 commission:
I guess for me it's the hypocrisy from the Senate Republicans who did not want to form a bipartisan commission for the January 6th insurrection, yet they want to continue this with this narrative and these attacks on Dr. Fauci. They didn't want to investigate or impeach former President Trump because they wanted to move on so the American society could keep going, yet they continue to attack Dr. Fauci.
Like Haines, Lindsay claimed that he had been “very transparent,” seemingly ignoring the inconsistencies between what he said in his emails and what he said publicly.
“If anything, I feel that Dr. Fauci has been in front of the American people, has been very transparent and has continued to inform and educate them when we know this was a very novel virus. I find it ridiculous we're continuing to go after Dr. Fauci.,” she complained.
Behar agreed, throwing in another misleading argument to back up Fauci: “He also seems to be saying I have an open mind about where it came from. He’s not opening and shutting the case down,” she touted.
Okay, but how long did it take for Fauci to suddenly be open to the lab leak theory? Meghan McCain was the only host to note this, saying Fauci took advantage of his "celebrity" and wasn't transparent about the virus origin investigation from the beginning. "There's not a lot of transparency. If there's nothing to hide, show us the proof," she demanded.
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Read transcript portions below:
The View
6/4/2021
JOY BEHAR: The new rallying cry from the GOP is ‘but his emails’ after thousands of Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails were released. Republicans say they found their smoking gun that he misled the public and down played theories that covid spread from a leak in a Wuhan lab.
[PLAYS CLIP FROM YESTERDAY’S CNN ‘NEW DAY’ INTERVIEW]
BEHAR:All right. Well, you know, I hate to say it but Fauci's former boss Donald Trump told people to ingest infection and suggested sunlight and warm weather would make it all go away. Why isn't the GOP upset about trump’s mishandling of the crisis? Why are they picking on Fauci, Anna? Is all this Republican rage of emails warranted, do you think?
ANA NAVARRO: Look, I think Republicans have chosen Fauci to be the target of their ire and to be a distraction….Look, we have to put things in context. Some of these emails are from last year when Fauci was drinking out of a water hose. He was drinking out of a fire hydrant. Understand, He was in the midst of dealing with the virus…
BEHAR: Sara, did you find anything damning in Fauci's emails? Have you read them?
SARA HAINES: I have been reading them. No, I didn't. And actually when I saw these headlines, first coming out I try to approach a topic by deep reading like what’s the criticism, trying to find out what I think after reading everything. I kept waiting for something because the headlines kept saying now do you feel different about Dr. Fauci? I kept diving and I just I didn't find anything that jumped out as unexpected. He was very consistent in his emails with the timing of the emails and what he was saying publicly. If these emails revealed he was saying one thing publicly and one thing privately, that would be more alarming. Um, but what jumped out at me, we got more of the same. He was very deliberate, very kind. He handles emails the way he handles himself on TV. I actually, it kinda reaffirmed my take on him. It also reminded me how hard he was working….Refinery 29 kinda captured it for me. There was a headline of an article that said Anthony Fauci was nicer over emails during the pandemic than I ever have been. I feel like Dr. Fauci showed us on his worst days how he handled people which is better than most people on their best days, these days.
…
BEHAR: Rachel do you see a smoking gun here at all?
RACHEL LINDSAY: I absolutely don't see a smoking gun here. The freedom of information act is intended to increase transparency in the name of public interest. It's not supposed to be a witch hunt, which is exactly what's happening here with Dr. Fauci. I mean they keep reaching and reaching and reaching trying to find something here, and there is nothing. I guess for me it's the hypocrisy from the Senate Republicans who did not want to form a bipartisan commission for the January 6th insurrection, yet they want to continue this with this narrative and these attacks on Dr. Fauci. They didn't want to investigate or impeach former President Trump because they wanted to move on so the American society could keep going, yet they continue to attack Dr. Fauci. It's as if they expect him to be perfect in his position. That's not a part of his job requirement. That’s not what he’s supposed to do. If anything, I feel that Dr. Fauci has been in front of the American people, has been very transparent and has continued to inform and educate them when we know this was a very novel virus. I find it ridiculous we're continuing to go after Dr. Fauci. We just need to go back to some sort of normalcy and continue in that manner.
BEHAR: He also seems to be saying I have an open mind about where it came from. He’s not opening and shutting the case down. At least there’s that.
