Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Twitter, criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday in a very derisive tweet. The account's users had responded to his message by liking it and sharing it.
My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2022
The response from Fauci's supporters and critics was very strong. Some of them included Peter Hotez, a virologist and a professor at Baylor University.
Hotez, who became a media sensation during the pandemic, criticized Musk for using "antiscience rhetoric" and "disinformation." He claimed that these statements have led to the deaths of around 200,000 Americans.
In response, Fauci noted that he had done nothing wrong and that Musk should take down his erroneous and misleading message. He also said that the deaths of the Americans were caused by disinformation and antiscience rhetoric.
For the record: Dr. Fauci has done nothing wrong, except serve our nation. In the meantime, Mr. Musk should know that 200,000 Americans needlessly lost their lives from Covid due to this kind of antiscience rhetoric and disinformation. Elon, I’m asking you to take down this Tweet https://t.co/t3ffWQsXnb
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) December 11, 2022
According to a report earlier this year, Hotez was a huge proponent of the COVID vaccines. He was awarded a grant of over $6 million from the NIH from 2012 to 2017.
The goal of his work was to respond to the accidental release of SARS-CoV-2 from a laboratory. However, he now says that the speculation about the virus' possible release is a fringe conspiracy.
Through his grant, Hotez was able to fund research on the combined orchimeric nature of coronaviruses. The project was carried out at Wuhan Lab, which was headed by Zhengli Shi.
In recent months, Hotez has been very vocal about his opposition to the plans to hold hearings next year regarding the possible release of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from Wuhan Lab.
The Branch Covidians are upset lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022
Keith Olbermann, a left-wing commentator, urged Fauci to sue Musk. He claimed that he believed that it would be a successful lawsuit. On his Twitter account, he also shared a picture of Musk with Ghislaine Maxwell, the partner of Jeffrey Epstein.
Hey look what they found in the "Twitter Files" pic.twitter.com/j5LKi5Jibd
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 11, 2022
Since Musk and Maxwell have always maintained that the photo was taken during an event, Olby's attempt at shaming the tech billionaire backfired. Many of his followers reminded him of the times when Epstein and Maxwell had also appeared in photos with former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
Hey look what they found in the "Twitter Files" pic.twitter.com/uoxC4AR194
— I Meme Therefore I Am ?? (@ImMeme0) December 11, 2022
John Dean, the alleged villain of Watergate, called out Musk for his attack on Fauci. He noted that the South African scientist had no appreciation for the American culture and was ignorant of the country's norms. He also said that the Senate should investigate Musk.
The radical and unAmerican statement of Musk calling for prosecution of Dr. Fauci is that of a South African who has no real understanding of American norms, nor appreciation of public service. I agree with @KeithOlbermann the US Senate should investigate Musk. He is dangerous! https://t.co/DFxpCEtuJm
— John W. Dean (@JohnWDean) December 11, 2022
Senator Olbermann had previously called for hearings to investigate Musk to determine what he was up to and what foreign influence he was involved with.
It's time for Senate hearings into what scheme @elonmusk is up to, what terrorist or foreign influence is involved, and what can be done to remove this public medium from his malign control. pic.twitter.com/OyBYFv1XUA
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 10, 2022
A left-wing operative, Alexander Vindman, went on a Twitter meltdown after he was offended by Musk's quip. He compared him to Joseph Goebbels, who was a Nazi propagandist.
During the Democrats' impeachment hearings against Donald Trump in 2019, Vindman was a witness. He was an aide to the president who was involved in the president's call with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksy. According to Vindman, Trump abused his position by refusing to provide aid to Ukraine until the country's political opponents were investigated.
It was widely believed that Vindman was the source of information for Eric Ciaramella, a so-called whistleblower. His public testimony was criticized by war heroes. They called him a "disgrace" and an operative with an agenda.
A retired US Army officer, Jim Hickman, served with Vindman in Germany in 2013. He referred to him as American Greatness.
According to Hickman, he had reprimanded Vindman after he started talking about Barack Obama and made derisive remarks about Americans and the country in front of officers of the Russian military. In response, Hickman said on Twitter that Vindman was a political activist who should not be allowed to fool around.
Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, made fun of the US, which he claimed made other soldiers feel uncomfortable. According to Hickman, he heard Vindman call Americans "rednecks," which is a derogatory term used by the Russians. He claimed that the other soldiers had a big laugh at America's expense.
Ian Bremmer, the founder and president of Eurasia Group, used a now-deleted tweet to mock Musk for having Asperger's Syndrome.
In October, Bremmer claimed that Musk had contacted Putin before he released a peace proposal for Ukraine. However, Musk denied this and insisted that he had not talked to the Russian president about the proposed deal.
Scott Kelly, a former astronaut, criticized Musk for his comments about the LGBTQ+ community. He said that he was promoting hate speech toward those who are already at risk of being violently attacked.
.@elonmusk Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward already marginalized and at-risk-of-violence members of the #LGBTQ+ community. They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives. https://t.co/Vgu04XMGeZ
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) December 12, 2022
Musk responded to Kelly's criticism by saying that he disagrees with the former astronaut's use of pronouns. He said that forcing people to use terms such as "when they didn't ask" is neither kind nor good.
The Chief Tweeter also criticized Fauci for lying to Congress and funding research that led to the deaths of millions of people.
.@elonmusk Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward already marginalized and at-risk-of-violence members of the #LGBTQ+ community. They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives. https://t.co/Vgu04XMGeZ
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) December 12, 2022
John Brennan, who was the CIA's director under Barack Obama, criticized Musk for his attack on Fauci.
In response, Brennan praised Fauci for his contributions to public health. He also said that he would be remembered for his innate goodness for generations to come.
Despite being successful, Musk is still expected to be remembered for his actions and statements that have fueled divisions and hate.
Dr. Fauci is a national hero who will be remembered for generations to come for his innate goodness & many contributions to public health
Despite your business success, you will be remembered most for fueling public hate & divisions.
You may have money, but you have no class. https://t.co/0zabyXMERz
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) December 11, 2022
It will always be remembered that Brennan, who was the CIA director, lied to Congress about the agency's illegal access to Senate computers. He also told the members of the House Intelligence Committee that the CIA had briefed them about the Russians' efforts to influence the US presidential election. None of the members of the Gang of Eight, including Ryan and Nunes, were briefed on this matter.
Also, he is expected to be remembered for his role in signing an infamous letter that claimed that the supposed laptop bomb that was sent by Hunter Biden was likely Russian disinformation.
After his "My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci" tweet went viral, Musk noted that truth resonates. Fauci is reportedly set to step down as the director of the NIH at the end of the year.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on American Greatness.