Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Epidemics and Corona adviser to President Joe Biden, said that the disinformation spread by Republican Senator Rand Paul triggered violent threats against him and his family.
During the Health Commission session held in the Senate, Fauci got into a debate with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Fauci said Paul is focused on attacking himself with false information rather than tackling the public health crisis that has killed 800,000 people in the United States.
Paul’s website claims that Fauci lied about everything from wearing a mask to the contagion of the virus. At the Senate hearing on Tuesday, Paul accused Fauci of defaming scientists who disagreed with him. Fauci, on the other hand, said that Paul distorted the truth.
Fauci said that Paul’s accusations diverted attention from efforts to control the pandemic, and that Paul did so for political reasons.
Disinformation triggers threats
While Fauci faced harsh criticism from some conservatives, he received death threats from those who oppose vaccination and mask measures. Fauci said such threats are triggered by disinformation.
Fauci said of Paul, “What happens when you suddenly accuse me of all the wrong things? “It provokes the craziest out there and it puts my life, my family and my children in danger,” he said.
Fauci said that a man who allegedly went from California to the capital Washington DC to kill himself was arrested in the state of Iowa on December 21.
Senator Rand Paul stated that Fauci personally attacked him and said that no one wished for Fauci to be harmed.
Fauci last month demanded that conservative Fox News presenter Jesse Watters be fired for using the word “killing shot” when he criticized him.