The real reason the right hates Anthony Fauci

Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, the American right is still consumed with hatred for White House adviser Anthony S. Fauci. So much so that not only do they scheme to destroy Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, but their obsession sometimes devolves into violent fantasies.

Speaking at a conference of the right-wing “youth” organization Turning Point USA, Fox News host Jesse Watters instructed the assembled activists on how they should track down and confront Fauci, to create a viral moment that Fox could then use to achieve the movement’s political ends.

The next time someone says Fox is a “news” organization, you might want to recall this moment, when one of the network’s stars tells activists to find and confront Fauci, “go in for the kill shot” of what he thinks is a clever question (“Boom! He is dead!”) and then “get that footage to us” so it can be used against him.