- Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed back, with science, against several coronavirus claims made by Rand Paul today.
- This isn’t the first time Paul has pushed a questionable narrative, not based in fact.
- Paul has even pushed conspiracy theories, which makes us wonder, quite simply, if he’s okay.
Dr. Fauci was not having any of Rand Paul’s pseudo-science today.
He repeatedly pushed back against Rep. Senator Paul’s shaky claims about the coronavirus pandemic. Sadly, this isn’t the first time this elected official has strayed into incredibly muddied waters.
We’re starting to get concerned.
Fauci Won’t Be Having Any of It
During a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Fauci and Rand Paul went it. Check out the video below:
“You’ve misconstrued that, senator, and you’ve done that repeatedly in the past.”
Dr. Fauci pushes back against Sen. Rand Paul’s claims on the coronavirus.
“You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said” about immunity rates in New York. https://t.co/DIRyayK8nL pic.twitter.com/f6qTu8eWOG
— CNN (@CNN) September 23, 2020
At one point, Paul claimed the New York City overcame the COVID-19 threat because it achieved her immunity. Fauci quickly clapped back at the senator, telling him he’s “not listening.”
Paul went on to say:
To those who argue that the lockdown flattened the curve in New York and New Jersey, the evidence argues otherwise.
To which Fauci responded:
No, you misconstrued that senator, and you’ve done that repeatedly in the past. They got hit very badly, they made some mistakes. Right now if you look at what’s going on right now, the things that are going on in New York to get their test positivity 1% or less is because they are looking at the guidelines that we have put together from the task force of the four or five things of masks, social distancing, outdoors more than indoors, avoiding crowds and washing hands.
Fauci went on to say that around 22% of NYC’s population has likely been exposed to the virus, while herd immunity requires 60% to 80% to be vaccinated or have developed anti-bodies.
Fauci then hit Rand Paul with his “mic drop” moment:
You are not listening to what the director of the CDC said. If you believe that 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.
By the end, the two men were trying to talk over each other before Paul moved the microphone away from his face, and Fauci refuted his “facts” one final time.
Rand Paul Has Been Flying Down a Dangerous Path
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Rand Paul has made some brow-raising claims.
In 2015, Paul tried to start a conspiracy theory that had the Fed printing money to lobby congress with.
In 2018, he retweeted a PizzaGate conspiracy theorist.
Last month, after a crowd gathered around Paul in Washington D.C., he claimed they were paid to be there to cause disruption. Claims like this after often associated with George Soros and the plethora of conspiratorial lore associated with his name.
Rand Paul is echoing Trump’s “they flew here on plane and got fresh new cloths and someone is paying them” lies.
They’re deliberately referencing QAnon and the conspiracy that George Soros pays protesters.
The GOP is quickly becoming the Q party.pic.twitter.com/72wdKIAP74
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) September 1, 2020
Rand Paul claimed, live on Fox News, that:
There’s something going here…My feeling is that there is inter-state criminal traffic being paid for across state lines.
…
I promise you that at least some of the members and the people who attacked us were not from D.C. They flew here on a plane. They’ve all got fresh new clothes, and they were paid to be here.
Paul’s cumulative paranoia leads us to wonder whether or not the senator is in need of help.
Has he gone down a rabbit hole of misinformation like the traps explored in The Social Dilemma?
Is he just following in President Trump’s recent footsteps involving the encouragement of confused QAnon supporters?
Or is he just not well?
Either way, we’re glad he got to talk to a real doctor today.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
Aaron Weaver edited this article for CCN.com. If you see a breach of our Code of Ethics or find a factual, spelling, or grammar error, please contact us.
