The majority of surveyed Americans think Anthony Fauci should be removed from his role in helping lead the federal government’s COVID-19 response, a new poll released Monday by Convention of States Action, along with Trafalgar Group, shows.
Fauci currently serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the president. While 76.6% of surveyed Republican voters want Fauci to quit, only 17.5% of Democrats feel the same.
Notably, the Anthony Fauci poll found that “58.9 percent of Independent voters believe Dr. Fauci should resign his position and role in leading the government’s COVID-19 response to allow for new leadership,” while “41.1 percent believe Dr. Fauci should not resign.”
The poll results came from a survey conducted Jan. 12-14 of more than 1,000 likely 2022 voters.
“Once known as ‘America’s Doctor’, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become a highly partisan figure among voters,” said Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action. “His own admissions that public opinion influences his decisions, his almost daily shifts on policy, and his criticism of those who disagree with him has – for Republicans and Independents – removed the sense that Fauci is objective and scientific. Democrats, on the other hand, who agree with Fauci’s point-of-view and critiques, support him with overwhelming numbers.”
Fauci has become an increasingly controversial figure since the start of the pandemic. His approval rating has steadily declined in recent months.
The Hill/HarrisX Anthony Fauci Poll
An Anthony Fauci poll from The Hill/HarrisX in June of last year reported that 42% of voters want Fauci to resign with 58% saying he shouldn’t. By October, though, the same survey found that 52% said Fauci should resign.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is a doctor, has been at the forefront of criticisms of Fauci, repeatedly calling for his firing. Critics have pointed to Fauci’s change in guidance, questions surrounding American funding of the virology lab in Wuhan, China, and the wisdom of shutting down the economy, particularly in the early months of the pandemic.
Earlier this month, Paul and Fauci got into a heated exchange during a Senate hearing. Fauci defended himself at the hearing, saying “you’re distorting everything about me.”
Paul argues that Fauci has shut down voices disagreeing with him and that his lack of judgment has made the pandemic worse.
“The idea that a government official would claim to unilaterally represent science and that any criticism of that official would be considered a criticism of science itself, is quite dangerous,” Paul said at the hearing. “Central planning, whether it be of the economy or of science, is risky because of the fallibility of the planner. It would not be so catastrophic if the planner were simply one physician in Peoria, then the mistakes would only affect those patients who chose that physician, but when the planner is a government doctor, who rules by mandate, the errors are compounded and become much more harmful.”
Casey Harper | The Center Square
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Reposted with permission
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