Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s call to prosecute President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, has attracted high-profile criticism.
What Happened: After Musk tweeted on Sunday that his pronouns were “Prosecute/Fauci," former NASA astronaut and naval aviator Scott Kelly asked him not to “mock and promote hate toward already marginalized and at-risk-of-violence members of the [LGBTQ+] community.”
“They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr. Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives,” said Kelly.
Musk responded that he disagreed with “forcing your pronouns upon others.” He said that Fauci “lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome.”
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Why It Matters: Musk’s comments on Fauci became a lightning rod for criticism. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Twitter that she was a “big fan” of the outgoing Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he’s served since Nov. 1984.
Former CIA Director John O. Brennan called Fauci a “national hero” and said despite Musk’s “business success” he will be remembered most for fueling public hate & divisions.”
“You may have money, but you have no class,” said O. Brennan.
Fauci has said he would testify before Congress if he was called to do so. "If I become a punching bag, I’m a punching bag.”
“But I am very happy to testify before any congressional oversight committee, I have nothing to hide, I can explain and validate everything that I’ve done," the scientist said in a Friday interview with Chris Wallace, reported Axios.
Last week, Musk reacted to a post that noted that Fauci’s daughter worked at Twitter during the pandemic by saying, “small world.”
Photo by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr
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