“If anybody is lying here, Senator, it is you,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
(Picture: Photo Credit: C-SPAN, Atrupar/Twitter.)Dr. Anthony Fauci and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) found themselves embroiled in a heated exchange amid a Senate hearing on Tuesday, during which Senator Paul insinuated Fauci lied to Congress regarding the origins of Covid-19.
“Knowing it’s a crime to lie to congress, do you wish to retract your statement that the NIH [National Institutes of Health] never funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan?” Paul asked Fauci, referencing a conspiracy that Covid-19 leaked from a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. “Gain of function research” refers to studying disease by increasing its transmission.
“Senator Paul, I have never lied before the congress. I do not retract that statement,“ the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases retorted, reiterating that various qualified experts have evaluated the issue, and paper to which Paul was referring — all of whom concluded it was not gain of-function.
RAND PAUL: Knowing it's a crime to lie to Congress, do you wish to retract your statement where you said the NIH never funded gain of function research in Wuhan?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2021
FAUCI: I've never lied before Congress & I don't retract that statement ... you don't know what you're talking about pic.twitter.com/UtWoO2KHsb
Senator Paul then interrupts the health expert, further questioning his claims.
“Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And I want to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about,” Fauci shot back, his patience clearly running thin.
“We don’t know that it did come from the lab, but all the evidence is pointing that it came from the lab, and there will be responsibility for those who funded the lab, including yourself,” Paul insisted.
Damn pic.twitter.com/HNqBeUoehw
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2021
“I totally resent the lie that you are now propagating, Senator, because if you look at the viruses that were used in the experiments that were given in the annual reports that were published in the literature, it is molecularly impossible” for those to “result in Covid-19,” Fauci then explained, as Paul proceeded to interrupt.
“And you are implying that we did was responsible for the deaths of individuals? I totally resent that. And if anybody is lying here, Senator, it is you,” Fauci concluded, pointing his finger at the Kentucky politician.
Fauci still isn't done with Rand Paul: "This is a pattern that Sen. Paul has been doing now at multiple hearings, based on no reality." pic.twitter.com/RP9Wn4aLAd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 20, 2021
Twitter, in awe of the interaction, had thoughts on how Fauci handled himself — and they loved it.
I am shooketh.
— Sloan Ashton (@Ashton7Sloan) July 20, 2021
I absolutely LOVE this energy from Dr. Fauci, and I hope more people in the administration follow suit. Be direct. Be unwavering. Be brutal.
I am loving the whole Fauci-Off-The-Leash version.
— Cinnamon Latte ☕ (@MOMof11BravoVet) July 20, 2021
Glad to see him finally stand up for himself, and the science
— Keith🦖 (@KLaBelle97) July 20, 2021
Thank you, Dr. Fauci for calling out Rand Paul for his misinformation or disinformation...depending on his intent.
— Marka R Ormsby (@OrmsbyMarka) July 20, 2021
— Chintan (@Teh_Diver) July 20, 2021
Dozens of Fauci enthusiasts took to Twitter to express their support for Fauci putting Paul in his place.
My new ring tone!! https://t.co/D1qkk18C9B
— Bill (@williamchaiase) July 20, 2021
Dr Fauci is my Spirit Animal@FauciFan #drfauci https://t.co/Rtnt3rtBVm
— Princess of Power (@My_Name80) July 20, 2021
Give him hell, Tony!#AnthonyFauci @FauciFan #fauchiouchie@RandPaul 👈🏼 #liar https://t.co/t0Vt7I5P5T
— Randall White (@randallwhite) July 20, 2021
This is how everyone should be treating Republicans every minute of every day https://t.co/21XILayEhk
— Resist & Desist (@ResistandDesist) July 20, 2021
I literally had to watch this 21 times before retweeting. #Fauci puts @RandPaul IN. HIS. PLACE. https://t.co/Pd7cEXtoys
— Tank ATX (@BikerButt) July 20, 2021
#FauciOuchie whole new meaning. #RandPaulGotFaucied https://t.co/cBk0bZATFx
— Nancy (Ayanna) Wyatt (@MizGuru) July 20, 2021
Fauci Ouchie has a whole new meaning, indeed.
