Originally Posted by Gordie H

​​I could be wrong but last I checked Fauci still has a mid 60s approval rating…not too bad? But lets get this straight – the only reason Fauci is doubted or hated by many is because he was targeted by potus. Mark Meadows, White house chief of staff, led the smear campaign, which was quickly amplified by right wing media.

Early last summer the administration decided their strategy to win in Nov was to stop talking about the pandemic, minimize testing, get the economy back going, etc. They didn’t explicitly tell Fauci this (or any other agencies or the public for that matter) but they wanted him to change his tune or, very least, shut up. But he wouldn’t so the objective was to lower his public approval rating enough so they could fire him (firing someone popular doesn't help). The campaign obviously failed but damage was done.

The 80 year old lifelong public servant has absolutely no logical reason to lie about anything. He could’ve retired years ago with a fat pension and still worked a side gig on some board. Is he perfect? Of course not.