Marjorie Taylor Greene's brutal attack on Dr. Fauci sparks new wave of death threats
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is on the attack, and Dr. Anthony Fauci is in her sights. Dr. Fauci is the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
On Monday, June 3, he voluntarily testified before a GOP-led subcommittee that has been evaluating the United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the hearing, Dr. Anthony Fauci told the committee about the difficulties both he and his family faced due to his very public role during the pandemic.
Marjorie Taylor Greene was present during Dr. Fauci's testimony, and things quickly deteriorated when Greene verbally attacked the Doctor. Dr. Fauci has since stated that because of Greene's attack, he has received an abnormal amount of death threats.
As reported by CNN, Marjorie Taylor Greene made a point to purposelly not refer to Dr. Fauci as a doctor, and despite his extensive medical background and years of service in the field, she insisted on calling him Mr. Fauci during her questioning.
Greene went on to say that Dr. Fauci ought to be in prison while claiming that NIH scientists made more than $700 million in COVID royalties.
According to Fox News, Greene said,"NIH scientists made $710 million in royalties from drug makers. A fact that's been hidden. Is it right for scientists and doctors getting paid by the American people, government taxpayer paychecks to get patents where they're paid millions and hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty fees?"
Greene continued, "Do you think that's appropriate? Do the American people deserve to be abused like that? Mr. Fauci? 'cause you're not Doctor, you're Mr. Fauci."
The Congresswoman added, "That man does not deserve to have a license. As a matter of fact, it should be revoked and he belongs in prison."
Chair of the subcommittee, Rep. Brian Wenstrup, reprimanded Greene for her verbal attack on Fauci. Since then, Dr. Fauci claims there has been a marked increase in the number of death threats issued to both himself and his family due to the "political performances" by Greene and other far-right wing figures.
In an interview with CNN following the hearing, Dr. Fauci said that the hearing should have been focused on improving and taking knowledge from past experiences to be better prepared and improve responses in future pandemics.
Dr. Fauci added that attacks like Marjorie Taylor Greene's are unproductive and do nothing to help improve things for the future. He also highlighted the damage of these kinds of comments.
Fauci told CNN: "Immediately, like clockwork, the death threats go way up. That's the reason why I'm still getting death threats."
Dr Fauci continued, "When you have performances like that unusual performance by Marjorie Taylor Greene in today's hearing. Those are the kind of things that drive up the death threats."
Later this year, the subcommittee will release its final report on how the country handled the pandemic and how it can be better prepared for and prevent future pandemics.