Sunny Hostin, meanwhile, says Trump is the one who made mask wearing a partisan issue.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is making headlines for saying the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “very likely” cost American lives, adding that it felt “liberating” to be able to speak about Covid without fear of repercussions.
Appearing on “The View” Friday, however, cohost Meghan McCain said she’s not ready to give Fauci “a Profile In Courage award” for his remarks.
During a White House press conference Thursday, Fauci said that after his time working under Trump, “The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence, what the science is — let the science speak. It is somewhat of a liberating feeling.” In a separate interview with CNN, he was asked whether the lack of facts from the outgoing administration cost lives, he said, “it very likely did.”
McCain explained she had a few issues with Fauci’s comments and history during the pandemic, before then criticizing President Joe Biden for his behavior during his inauguration special this week.
“I think the great horror of living in America right now is the absolute complete breakdown in trust in our institutions,” she began. “And since everyone has gone after the Trump administration, I think it’s okay to hold the feet to the fire for Dr. Fauci as well.”
“I remember being told that masks don’t work and to throw them away,” she said. “I had a bunch of masks and I ended up giving them away.”
McCain was referencing remarks Fauci made way back in March 2020, near the beginning of the pandemic and before the CDC even updated its guidelines on wearing masks. At the time, he said, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask” — but reversed his beliefs shortly after it became clear asymptomatic people were spreading infection and that there wasn’t going to be a real shortage of masks.
“Just say to me, first responders need them more than average Americans,” McCain continued. “I was lied to.” While McCain admitted “President Trump was integral in spreading false information,” she added she’s “not about to give Dr. Fauci a profile in courage award.”
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She then took aim at Biden, criticizing him for not wearing a mask while giving a televised speech during the “Celebrating America” celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night — shortly after signing an executive order requiring “individuals in Federal buildings and on Federal lands” to “all wear masks, maintain physical distance, and adhere to other public health measures, as provided in CDC guidelines.” The executive order also encouraged masks across the country.
“We have President Biden yesterday, him and his family, they’re not wearing masks after mandating and requiring people to wear masks on federal property,” said McCain. “He and his family were not wearing masks out. The rules for three, but not for me … I was really disappointed he wasn’t wearing a mask.”
During a Thursday press conference, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Biden’s lack of masks and explained “he was celebrating an evening of a historic day in our country … surrounded by his family, we take a number of precautions, but I think we have bigger issues to worry about.”
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Joy Behar then asked Sunny Hostin whether Meghan was making a “false equivalency.”
“What I want to mention is the reason it’s a partisan issue is because Trump made it a partisan issue,” Hostin said of mask wearing. “Trump politicized the virus in ways I don’t think any of us would have imagined. He politicized wearing masks.”
She also said Trump is to blame for anyone who’s afraid of taking the vaccine, as well as for those who still believe Covid is a “hoax.”
“There will not be unity of message before there is accountability,” she added. “That is one of the issues we still need to talk about in this country.”
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