Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Tommy Carcetti

(43,079 posts)
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:02 AM Jun 2021

The Trumpist smear campaign against Dr. Fauci is just so disheartening to watch.

Don't get me wrong; he's far from the first person the Trumpists have targeted with malicious lies, disinformation, and overt threats. And while their attacks against Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were absolutely repulsive, because they were overt political figures, at least I was more or less prepared for it.

But Dr. Fauci is an apolitical lifelong civil servant. He was called up to the task force by the Trump administration, and for a while was something of a unicorn: a person working with the Trump White House who was actually highly qualified and competent for the job that was assigned to him.

And yet now the Trumpist cult seeks to tear him down, destroy his reputation and utterly vilify him. They want to push an absurd and false narrative that he somehow conspired with the Chinese government to create Covid-19. I don't know how many right wing blue checks on social media have literally called for him to be imprisoned for imaginary offenses.

And what is the reason for all of this? It's simple.

Jealousy.

Petty jealousy and nothing more.

In 2020, when the virus began to rage and Donald Trump stood at the podium and rattled off the most ridiculous nonsense, lies and dangerous misinformation, most Americans were desperate for a voice of calm reason and sanity. And thankfully, Dr. Fauci provided that for Americans. And so, he became quite a popular figure to the public, across the board, regardless of one's political affiliation. Because if you couldn't trust anyone else, at least you could trust Dr. Fauci.

Now, if Trump was politically savvy, he could have attempted to "own" Dr. Fauci. He could have claimed all the credit for bringing this extremely popular figure on board and thus tried to hone in on the goodwill that surrounded him. Perhaps that might have been a little bit disingenuous, but at least it would been a good move politically.

But Trump isn't smart or saavy; he's a repulsive, malignantly narcissistic creature who is bitter and resentful towards others getting the attention he insist is due to him. He hated that people trusted Dr. Fauci and didn't trust him. He hated that Dr. Fauci provided an air of calm whereas all he created was confusion and chaos.

And so, he set out to destroy him. And so did all his syncophantic Death Eater followers, because where they went one, they went all.

All of this was tragic because throughout all of this Dr. Fauci has remained the consummate professional. He has never made anything about politics. Hell, he really hasn't publicly and overtly criticized Trump, instead focusing on the long game of solving this virus.

And he seems like a genuinely decent and good guy to boot. Which is why--much like President Biden for the same reasons--most ordinary, regular-minded Americans continue to approve of what he's doing.

But the Trumpists have gone insane with jealousy over him and are hellbent in trying to destroy his reputation. Double so now that Trump is out of office and Biden is in, and now Fauci is Biden's man. Their most recent efforts center around emails (what else?) to and from from Dr. Fauci obtained from a FOIA request. There's nothing really shocking there--most notable was a shift in his approach to masks very early on in the pandemic but nothing that we didn't already know.

But they're already creating false narratives and conspiracy theories out of them. I've even seen some blatantly fabricated false emails floating around.

And it's just so depressing and disheartening to go after a decent, highly intelligent and qualified guy all because they are insanely jealous and bitter that their guy was an unmitigated disaster.

It tears me up for whatever reason. I just feel so bad for the guy. He doesn't deserve this at all.

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

secondwind

(16,903 posts)
1. I think Fauci is a strong person, this crap doesn't bother him in the least
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:13 AM
Jun 2021


Try not to let this get to you so hard. Fauci is not.

drray23

(7,587 posts)
2. it's not just the right wingers
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:15 AM
Jun 2021

We have people on du who also criticize him, accusing him of having lied or reversed his stance on things. It's ridiculous and based on a misunderstanding on how scientists make decisions but there we are.

CousinIT

(9,151 posts)
7. Not me.
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:38 AM
Jun 2021

Dr. Fauci is a straight shooter. Science, as scientists learn more about whatever it is they're studying, can and often does change previously cited conclusions. It's not dishonesty. It's SCIENCE. I trust Dr. Fauci.

Response to CentralMass (Reply #3)

Tommy Carcetti

(43,079 posts)
8. We shouldn't, but that ship has long set sailed since the Summer of 2015.
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:45 AM
Jun 2021

The last time Trump and his seemingly Quixotic presidential campaign could have been written off as a complete joke.

He could have finished in the low single digits in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2016 and never have been heard from again in the political world. Instead, he was given room to fester and grow, and he ran with it.

And now we're stuck with him. The tumor was surgically removed in November 2020, but we're still going to have to go through a national chemotherapy. Which if you know any cancer survivors, they'll tell you is the most grueling part of the disease.

This piece from The Salon today demonstrates the problem that Trump currently poses.

(Snip)

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/03/donald-trump-is-an-idea-not-a-man--and-thats-why-his-movement-is-so-dangerous/

Donald Trump is an idea, not a man — and that's why his movement is so dangerous
Laughing at Donald Trump in his Mar-a-Lago exile is missing the point. His movement is getting stronger every day
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
PUBLISHED JUNE 3, 2021 6:10AM (EDT)

To focus on Donald Trump the man is to fundamentally misunderstand how imperiled American society is in this moment.

Donald Trump is no longer a mere person. Indeed, to some extent the human being behind the Trump persona has become irrelevant. For his followers — and just as much for his enemies — he represents an idea, a feeling, a worldview and a movement. We call this "Trumpism": It is a fascist and authoritarian understanding of the world, and an associated set of values and beliefs. Like other forms of fascism, it is not a coherent ideology.

***

But Trumpism is much more than attributes and definitions: It is a way for the followers to give meaning to their lives and fill up their internal moral and intellectual emptiness. Like other forms of fascism, Trumpism offers a solution for the deep resentment its followers feel toward other individuals and groups they deem to have somehow hurt them. Such resentments are often focused on ideas such as "progress" or the "future" — in the case of Trumpism, on "political correctness" and "cancel culture" and "liberal elites" who want to tell "people like us" in the "heartland" what to do.

The tools of normal politics in a democracy, such as campaigns and elections, voting, a belief in the inherent value of "bipartisanship" and "compromise" with the opposition, majoritarianism with respect for minority voices, pluralism and responsiveness to the public will are almost useless, if not wholly obsolete, in a battle against fascists and other political extremists.

CrispyQ

(36,224 posts)
4. +1
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:20 AM
Jun 2021

He's been a honorable public servant for decades. He doesn't deserve this shit at all. I honestly believe that without Dr. Fauci we would have had over 1 million dead by Election Day.

I'm flummoxed as to what happened to so many of the kids I went to grade school & high school with. We were the kids who got some of the first vaccines for polio, measles, and mumps. We were the kids who were excited about the moon landings. We were the kids who celebrated the first Earth Day in high school. Now a bunch of them are republicans & even Trumpers. WTF?

Irish_Dem

(45,619 posts)
5. The GOP has been hounding public health officials during the worst pandemic in 100 yrs.
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 11:36 AM
Jun 2021

It is unconscionable and shows a reckless disregard for the safety of the American people.

RAB910

(3,445 posts)
9. the evil right/GOP is attacking Fauci like they do the truth, science and efforts to save people
Thu Jun 3, 2021, 12:30 PM
Jun 2021

from Covid

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»The Trumpist smear campai...