(Video: CBS News)
Left-wing folk hero Dr. Anthony Fauci, 81, has bowed out of the upcoming White House Correspondents Association Dinner because of COVID concerns.
“The nation’s top doctor will no longer be attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner this Saturday. Dr. Anthony Fauci had been invited to attend as a guest of ABC News and had planned on going, sources familiar with the matter told Kaitlan Collins and me,” CNN’s Oliver Darcy has confirmed.
“But he recently decided to abandon those plans and inform ABC that he would no longer attend because of an individual assessment of his own personal risk, the sources said. Fauci’s decision comes amid concerns that the event could become a superspreader like the annual Gridiron Dinner held weeks ago, even though the WHCA is taking all the expected Covid precautions,” Darcy added.
>> @oliverdarcy and @kaitlancollins‘ scoop: Dr. Anthony Fauci backs out of WHCA dinner over Covid concerns https://t.co/ReHdOIPIS1 pic.twitter.com/yCEYEXQce5
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 27, 2022
This matters, critics say, because Fauci’s considered to be the alpha and omega of so-called “Science™” — like he himself said last year, “I represent science.”
So if he, “Science™” itself, refuses to attend because of COVID concerns, then wouldn’t it be logical, critics argue, for all the believers of “Science™” to also not attend?
Help me square this, those of you journos who bought Fauci candles and panties. Is this a pandemic or not? If Fauci says he’s not attending Nerd Prom because of covid danger, then why are you going?
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 27, 2022
They need to “follow the science.” To disagree with Fauci is to disagree with science itself. Lives are at stake and I cannot believe our journalists are going to go through with this super spreader.
— David York (@davidwyork93) April 27, 2022
If Science isn’t going, why are journalists?
— Tor Cotlands (@TorCotlands) April 27, 2022
Among those still slated to attend is President Joe Biden, 79.
“[H]e’ll be attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It’s an opportunity to honor the work of all of you and many of your colleagues and to — and to talk about the importance of journalism in the world,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced during Tuesday’s daily briefing.
“That’s an event he’s attended many times in the past, and he made a decision, through consultations, that it was an event he could attend and wanted to attend again,” she added.
So if Fauci doesn’t go to the dinner…and he IS The Science™️…does this mean the White House is denying science? #Fauci #WHCD
— Jacktogon (@jacktogon) April 27, 2022
She also defended his decision.
“Now, naturally, he has access to the best healthcare in the world. He consults closely with his doctor. We take a range of steps — I noted in response to MJ’s question earlier — that go beyond even most workplaces in the country in terms of required testing for those who — who will be around him, social distancing. Obviously, he has his own regular testing cadence,” she said.
“But we do make assessments and he makes assessments about when he feels it’s important for him to attend or participate in an event,” Psaki added.
But this defense left some wondering why regular Americans have often not been granted the same right to decide for themselves what’s best for them.
Critics also wonder why the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) isn’t just canceling this year’s dinner or, at the very least, conducting it through an online video-conferencing application like Zoom.
So if the WHCA dinner goes on without him, how is that not ignoring the advice and concerns of our public health officials who speak for science? pic.twitter.com/BnsXN2FYCL
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 27, 2022
Do it virtually on Zoom, just like Fauci did to our kids. It’s the same experience, right? Why do they need to be in person anyway? https://t.co/1mLjR1rhXU
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) April 27, 2022
Stephen L. Miller, a conservative commentator, has for his part been pressuring WHCA president Steven Portnoy to go ahead and cancel the dinner for the sake of “Science™.”
Look:
.@stevenportnoy The leading health official in the country won’t attend your dinner over Covid concerns, despite being quadruple vaccinated. Why are you still going through with it? pic.twitter.com/9PKx6eTSC7
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 27, 2022
@stevenportnoy Do you listen to science or not?
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 27, 2022
But apparently, Portnoy doesn’t listen to the “Science™,” because as of Wednesday, the upcoming WHCA dinner was still good to go.
In fairness to Portnoy, the actual science has made it clear that America has overcome COVID. Indeed, even Fauci himself recently admitted this in an interview.
Asked about the potential “end” to the pandemic, he told PBS’s Judy Woodruff, “We are certainly right now in this country out of the pandemic phase. Namely, we don’t have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now.”
So even Mr. “Science™” seems to recognize the actual science, though whether or not that means this administration will stop trying to force Americans to mask up remains to be seen, …
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