Nicolle Wallace began her show on Wednesday cutting Trump down to size with a new poll out that shows two-thirds of the nation won't feel safe gathering in public until at least July. She laid out the "real mood in the country that Donald Trump is trying to sell on a steady and swift march back to work" as being guided much more heavily by actual medical experts, like Dr. Tony Fauci than President Clorox.
That certainly explains Trump's foul mood, but add to that Dr. Fauci's testimony before the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday (Trump forbade him from testifying in front of the Democratic-led House) and it's easy to surmise why he felt the need to sic his mangy attack dogs on Dr. Fauci. See, the world renowned disease expert seems to be having more influence, what with his truth-telling, than an autocrat might like him to have. In fact, Dr. Fauci's warnings are even having an effect on the market, and Lord Farquad only knows we cannot have that.
A sign, as if you needed another one, that Donald Trump might have officially lost his grip on the messaging. So enter Trump's parade of allies in the right-wing media who apparently picked up on the significance of Dr. Fauci's warnings, and the reactions from a nervous country. Across several hours of Fox News last night, Trump's most loyal defenders responded to the latest public health guidance by waging war on Tony Fauci.
Wallace then played a montage of the blackest souls at Fox News saying the absolutely most absurd things about why Dr. Fauci just cannot be trusted.
SEAN HANNITY: Dr. Anthony Fauci also seems to favor what most of the Democrats want, and that is massive restrictions with no end in sight./He deserves a lot of credit. But there is no secret either that Dr. Fauci like so many others have been wrong, a lot.
LAURA INGRAHAM: With all due respect to Dr. Fauci's expertise, no one elected him to anything.
TUCKER CARLSON: Is this the guy into whom you want to invest all of your trust? Is this the guy you want to chart the future of the country? Maybe not. This is a very serious matter the decisions we're making right now. Tony Fauci hasn't been elected to anything. Some think he should be dictator for the duration of this crisis. That's insanity.
Yes! YES! Actually, Tucker, I DO want to invest my trust in this guy, and I DO want him to chart the course of the future!
Because we all know, if everyone who advised us in a crisis must have been elected to that position, we would be well and truly f*cked! Is the position of Fox News that we as a nation should have to wait for people who issue guidance in a national crisis to run a rigorous campaign, go through primaries, hold debates, and wait for us to VOTE before we can take their advice seriously?
Then Wallace got down to what really matters, and threw the words of people from his own party back in Trump's face while she was at it.
Dr. Fauci is one of finest public servants we have ever had. He's not a partisan. His only interest is in saving lives. We need his expertise and his judgment to defeat the virus. All Americans should be thanking him every day.
And a reminder from those moved to attack the scientists, scientists like Dr. Fauci, on the frontlines of this battle, that what remains at the center of all of this isn't politics. It's the more than 1.3 million Americans infected and the nearly 84,000 moms, dads, grandparents and yes, children lost in America.
