According to a new report from the New York Times, Trump and his administration have now tripled-down on their efforts to silence anyone who doesn’t parrot the president’s “all is well” narrative in the wake of the deadly coronavirus.
In what can only be described as a last-ditch attempt to give this nation a new fall guy, Donald recently appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead the efforts of the United States’ fight against the deadly virus.
Now, it seems, that Pence (no doubt at the direction of his boss) is doing everything in his power to just make everyone shut up.
The Times reports that one of the first steps implemented by the VP turned coronavirus czar was a measure to “coordinate messaging” — which translates to, top officials aren’t allowed to issue public statements pertaining to the virus unless they’ve received clearance from the White House first.
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The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was included on the list of experts told to keep quiet.
According to the New York Times, Fauci told associates that the White House, “had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.”
While extremely concerning, the censorship against Dr. Fauci and others like him isn’t surprising — as Fauci’s public statements on the novel virus have been in direct contradiction to Trump’s claims that there’s very little to be worried about.
Fauci told CNBC earlier this week that the travel restrictions implemented by Trump would ultimately become “irrelevant” should the deadly virus merge into a pandemic — something he revealed as expected on CNN last week — because “you can’t keep out the entire world.”
He then contradicted Donald’s claims of a rapidly produced vaccine for the virus in a segment on Fox News this week, stating, “Even though we are going as fast as you possibly can, it’s still going to take a good year, year and a half to see if we have a vaccine that works.”
Various health and national security experts have denounced the Trump administration’s attempts to silence experts in the wake of such a global crisis.
One top National Security Council aide from the Obama era, Ned Price, wrote on his Twitter:
“During the Ebola outbreak, we couldn’t get enough of @NIH’s Dr. Fauci because no one knew more or could deliver it with more authority or experience. Muzzling Dr. Fauci is an effort to muzzle fact and science when it’s needed most.”
During the Ebola outbreak, we couldn’t get enough of @NIH’s Dr. Fauci because no one knew more or could deliver it with more authority or experience. Muzzling Dr. Fauci is an effort to muzzle fact and science when it’s needed most. https://t.co/szZLZO7mmT
— Ned Price (@nedprice) February 27, 2020
The head of Obama’s Ebola response also spoke out against the recent move to silence experts: “Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama trusted Tony Fauci to be their top adviser on infectious disease, and the nation’s most trusted communicator to the public,” said Ronald Klain, who led the Obama administration’s response to the 2014 Ebola crisis. “If Trump is changing that, it is a threat to public health and safety.”
Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama trusted Tony Fauci to be their top adviser on infectious disease, and the nation’s most trusted communicator to the public. If Trump is changing that, it is a threat to public health and safety. https://t.co/0zvs7FRPix
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) February 27, 2020
Trump and his people are trying to keep this nation uninformed and in the dark, hoping you’ll put all your trust in him. Don’t let him.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
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