Fox News panel attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci: “He has put our children last”
Melissa Francis: “He is expanding the gap between rich and poor for decades to come ... he deserves a lot of the blame for the fact that he hasn't made teachers essential workers”
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From the July 16, 2020, edition of Fox News' Outnumbered
PETE HEGSETH (FOX HOST): You can certainly disagree with Dr. Fauci. And I salute Peter Navarro, for having the courage to do it publicly. He has a different point of view. The White House is there to sort it out.
HARRIS FAULKNER (CO-HOST): You know, Kennedy, a shake-up at the top of your coronavirus task force is not like a shake-up at the top of your campaign. And we're not doing any polling with Americans that I know about that specifically asks how they feel about the difference between those two things. But they are quite different, and it's a tender moment because there are people who are still in harm's way, by this disease that is not going away anytime soon, it would appear.
LISA KENNEDY MONTGOMERY (CO-HOST): And there's still a lot about the disease that we just don't know, and that's what's so scary.
FAULKNER: Amen.
MONTGOMERY: That's what's so scary for parents, and older Americans is we don't know if it's mutating. We don't know if it's easier to catch now but somehow less deadly, and time is a really critical element here. So I would rather see Dr. Fauci focusing on that, focusing on the data and what happens under the microscope, and not talking about himself so much and his relationship with the White House. Because I really think that is sort of adding fuel to the fire. And the fewer people we can have talking about themselves, and the more people we can have actually studying the science, I think the better we'll be in the short term and the long-term. And there's a big difference between the two because in the short term things are changing, opinions are changing. In the long term, this could have dire ramifications for the economy, and it would be damn shameful to look back and say, "Well we really only needed to protect a vulnerable section of society, yet somehow we did so much long-term economic damage we may not be able to recover from that for years."
FAULKNER: Yeah. Melissa?
MELISSA FRANCIS (CO-HOST): I find myself, as a mother, a huge critic of Dr. Fauci for a simple reason. He has put our children last. And when you look at the businesses that have gone back to work, they found ways to make it safe for people to do this, that, and the other thing, but not go to school? How has he not made our teachers essential workers? How has he not looked into and talked about the fact that children give this disease to adults at a very small rate, but there is a way to keep home those teachers who are vulnerable? I mean our teaching population is younger. But if you are vulnerable, stay home. If you are kids who have underlying conditions, stay home. But the fact that I feel like he has put our children last makes me very, very critical of him, especially because he is expanding the gap between rich and poor for decades to come by keeping poor kids home who don't have the resources to keep up on their education. There is a disparity and damage that is going on between these kids as they are kept home, and he deserves a lot of the blame for the fact that he hasn't made teachers essential workers and he has put our children last.