Dr. Anthony Fauci, the outgoing director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is not impressed with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, and he’s making it clear that the social media platform under Musk’s so-called leadership leaves a lot to be desired.
Fauci was responding to a tweet sent out by Musk on Sunday in which he suggested that the doctor needs to be put on trial, posting, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”
Fauci was asked about Musk’s tweet by former Obama administration official David Axelrod on his podcast. The doctor remarked:
“I don’t respond to him. I don’t pay any attention to him because that’s merely a distraction.”
Fauci also took a swipe at Twitter under Musk’s ownership:
“And if you get drawn into that and, I have to be honest, that cesspool of interaction, it’s … there’s no value added to that, David, it doesn’t help anything.”
Axelrod was asked about his interview with Fauci by CNN host Erin Burnett Monday evening on her show.
“Pretty remarkable comment referring to Twitter, what else did Fauci tell you in response to Musk?”
Axelrod:
“Well, he clearly was eager, as he said, not to engage with Musk directly. But he did say, Erin, and it was really interesting, reflecting on his over half century of work that this has been a half century of extraordinary progress in science, in public health. But when it came to the political discourse, he said there’s been an erosion. And he lays a lot of it on social media.”
He added:
“And, of course, he’s been in the middle of this. He’s been — he was targeted all throughout the pandemic for the decisions that he advised and the advice he was giving to policymakers about how he should proceed to deal with that pandemic, and to the point where he had significant security threats that required round-the-clock security, which he says in his podcast that is going to have to continue after he leaves his post at the end of this month.
“So, you know, he has pretty strong feelings about the erosion of our public discourse and the role social media has played in it.”
