LETTER FROM WASHINGTON
“How Anthony Fauci Became America’s Doctor. » This title of a long portrait of the magazine The New Yorkerpublished in April 2020, posed well the stature of the man who will retire in December, at 81 years old.
Anthony Fauci embodies scientific reason and facts. His exceptional longevity in office has allowed him to rub shoulders with seven presidents on both sides, since Ronald Reagan. When he entered the White House, Joe Biden asked him to continue his activity as chief medical adviser, to oversee the massive vaccination campaign against Covid-19. On August 22, when he announced his forthcoming departure, the President paid him a vibrant tribute, emphasizing his “scientific integrity” and its energy. “The United States of America is stronger, more resilient and healthier because of him. »
However, a familiar figure is no longer necessarily consensual, in today’s America, fractured and divided by suspicion and accusations of intent. A poll published in June showed that the doctor had only 43% favorable opinions. “I’m so sick of seeing him.launched the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, during a meeting on August 24. I know he says he’s going to retire. But someone should catch this little elf and throw him in the Potomac! »
This incitement to violence, which cannot be evacuated under the simple pretext of a bad joke, is the act of a leading Republican official, considered the most serious option to Donald Trump for the presidential election.
A dangerous hatred
Always calm and affable, Anthony Fauci lives under close protection, having been the object for years of an incredible detestation in the conservative ranks. This has taken on a particularly worrying scale during the Covid-19 crisis.
A 57-year-old man from West Virginia was even sentenced to three years in prison for sending threatening emails to the doctor. One of them announced that he and his family would be “dragged in the street, beaten to death, and burned alive. » At the end of 2021, in Iowa, a man armed with an assault rifle was arrested driving his vehicle; he had a list of targets to take down, including Anthony Fauci.
Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University, specializing in public health, is also a longtime friend of the expert. “He got caught up in the rabid politicization of American culture, he explained to the site The Hill, and it has been caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars over Covid in recent years. » According to Mr. Gostin, the entire scientific community is suffering from exhaustion and resignation.
You have 56.98% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.