Biden’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, responded to the harsh criticisms of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, to him on Sunday, saying his comments on him at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this weekend were “not very useful” and “pitiful”.
Noem, who received praise from conservatives for largely ignoring coronavirus restrictions and guidelines, was given a standing ovation by the CPAC crowd when she boasted that she ignored expert medical advice and called Fauci because she was supposedly “wrong”. Appearing on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Fauci was asked if this feeling was an impediment to the country’s recovery.
“It’s a shame, but it doesn’t help much, because sometimes you think things are going well and just take a look at the numbers, they don’t lie,” he said. During an interview with Noem on the same program, anchor Margaret Brennan questioned the Republican governor and potential presidential candidate of 2024 about her state’s poor performance with the deadly virus.
“So for your state, if you look at the beginning of July, which was after the peak of spring, you have the highest death rate in cumulative COVID deaths per million in the country,” said Brennan, adding: “I love you. I know is conservative and is concerned with the sanctity of life. So how can you justify making decisions that endanger the health of your constituents? “
Noem, however, ignored the question, instead of telling Brennan that “these are questions that you should ask all the other governors in this country as well.”