WATCH: Dr. Fauci Says “You’d Have To Be Asleep” To Not Recognize GOP Scapegoating Him For Trump

Republicans have been attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci for offering his expertise on virology and pandemic response, even going so far as to falsely accuse him of being party to ‘biological warfare’ and linking the study of coronaviruses to the pandemic. However, Fauci isn’t letting the attacks get to him, and says others shouldn’t fall for them.

In the clip below from Face the Nation, Dr. Fauci addresses the way that Republicans have set him up as a scapegoat for the pandemic, making efforts to pull attention away from Donald Trump’s failures to address the pandemic adequately in early days. Specifically, he’s answering questions about Ted Cruz’s claims that he should face legal consequences, after Cruz alleges that Fauci lied to Congress about gain-of-function research.

Fauci laughs this off, saying anyone would have to be asleep to not realize how Republicans are using him as a scapegoat to divert attention from Trump’s role in pandemic response failure, and hints that Cruz is the one who should be facing charges regarding his actions on January 6th. Furthermore, he says, when all is said and done, he (Fauci) will still be saving lives, while Cruz and his ilk will still be lying to the people.

Dr. Fauci on Ted Cruz saying he should be prosecuted: "I should be prosecuted? What happened on January 6, senator?"

And on Republicans scapegoating him: "That's okay. I'm just gonna do my job, and I'm gonna be saving lives, and they're gonna be lying." pic.twitter.com/fJm1Hh8lSJ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 28, 2021

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As for Fauci’s alleged lies to Congress, the Washington Post has an explainer about this, but the short summation is that the NIH letter that Republicans are using as ‘evidence’ of Fauci lying doesn’t actually say what they claim it does, and the WaPo awarded Cruz, along with Tom Cotton, ‘Two Pinnochios’ for their false claims that the letter ‘admitted’ to funding of gain-of-function research.