Are Democrats twisting Fauci's warning about reopening too early?
Reaction and analysis from District Media Group president Beverly Hallberg.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro came to the defense of Dr. Anthony Fauci Wednesday, and cautioned critics against blaming the public health expert for the ongoing coronavirus lockdowns rather than Democrat "lawmakers abdicating their duty."
"I don't think Fauci is a bad guy," the "Ben Shapiro Show" host said. "I don't think Fauci is out to ruin the American economy ... I think that Dr. Fauci is an epidemiologist and his job is to be a doctor of public health when it comes to pandemics. His job is not to balance all of the risks and rewards."
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Fauci warned during a Senate hearing Tuesday that prematurely lifting coronavirus restrictions like closing schools and non-essential businesses and limiting non-essential travel would lead to "suffering and death" and "turn the clock back instead of going forward."
His comments sparked outrage from many Republicans -- notably, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who publically warned the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease head that he is not the "end-all" or "omniscient" when it comes to the pandemic.
"Asking him to be the sole policymaker is really foolhardy and even Dr. Fauci knows this," Shapiro said.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
"And so the sort of move from the left to appoint Dr. Fauci the head of government when he is not the head of government, or to use him as a club to wield against elected officials ... and then the fact that people on the right are responding to that by blaming Fauci as though Fauci is to blame for lawmakers abdicating their duty by just pointing to Fauci and saying, 'He's going to solve all of our problems,' it's stupidity."
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Shapiro said lawmakers who look to delegate all decision-making authority to the experts represent "the tail end of the Progressive Era stupidity that suggested that if we just gave all power to the 'experts in government' then everything would magically be solved."
"And," he added, "I think Dr. Fauci would be the first person to say that."
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