MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace criticized Fox News primetime hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham for questioning White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Coming off a Tuesday Senate hearing in which Fauci claimed that sending children to school in the fall could be “a very risky and indeed a dangerous prospect,” Carlson in particular cited a laundry list of what he called Fauci’s “buffoon level” mistakes throughout the entirety of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Fauci, like every other human being, is flawed,” Carlson contended. “He says things that are wise. He says things that are profoundly silly. He is not, and no one is, the one person who should be in charge when it comes to making long term health recommendations. This guy, Fauci, may be even more off base than your average epidemiologist. Plenty of doctors, by the way, think it’s time for most even all of the country to cautiously reopen … But in the end, no appointed doctor should make the call on what our federal policy is. We elect leaders for that because we are supposed to be in charge of the country because it’s a democracy. Remember, NBC? CNN?”
Claiming on Wednesday’s “Deadline: White House” that President Donald Trump has “lost his grip on the messaging,” Wallace played clips of those she considered the president’s “most loyal defenders” responding “to the latest public health guidance by waging war on Tony Fauci.”
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Turning to The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker as she began a panel segment, Wallace said, “I don’t really know where to start with that Fox News montage.” (RELATED: Rush Limbaugh: Blue State Governors Want To ‘Wreck The Economy’ To Hurt Trump, And Make Red States Pay)
“Fox has not just played with fire, but been singed with the reckless commentary of people on their air,” she said. “In fact, new White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was in the segment with Trish Regan. I believe it was coverage like that conversation that got Trish Regan sidelined. All of those hosts I think have touted unproven drugs for which there are now FDA warnings for a couple of them, and last night going after Tony Fauci — while it was predictable — was still an abhorrent and pretty brazenly political effort to see.”