CNN's New Day show has been on a roll this week in peddling misinformation as its anchors have not only repeated the falsehood that President Donald Trump suggesting "ingesting bleach" and causing in increase in calls to poison control centers, but also covered for Dr. Anthony Fauci and other medical experts who discouraged Americans from wearing masks back in March while more successful East Asian countries were helping their citizens get masks.
At the top of Monday's show, co-host Alisyn Camerota complained:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: As the pandemic worsens, the Trump administration is attempting to damage the reputation of the top infectious disease expert in the United States. They're putting out a list of negative research on Dr. Anthony Fauci. In other words, they're using oppo research against their top expert as if he were a political opponent.
A few minutes later, correspondent Joe Johns suggested that, at the end of February and early March, medical experts were justified in putting Americans off from wearing masks:
JOE JOHNS: Some of the issues they raise the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things -- things like not needing to wear a mask or the virus does not spread asymptomatically. These are both incorrect -- however, they are things we didn't know at the time, and now many doctors and scientists and doctors had said earlier.
But he ignored the fact that Dr. Fauci admitted last month that he and other medical experts deceived the public so that there would be enough masks for medical personnel.
CBS's Face the Nation last Sunday even confronted Surgeon General Jerome Adams with a tweet of his from early March in which he begged people not to wear masks and claiming that they would not prevent infection, proving the point made by the White House that some of the career medical experts in the government have a history of making serious mistakes.
A bit later, CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta similarly suggested that the bad advice was not "intentional" even Dr. Fauci suggested that it was:
DR. SANJAY GUPTA: Nobody knew everything from the very start, including Dr. Fauci. But that's very different than saying, "Hey, the guy was intentionally wrong," or somehow misleading in some way, which is what seems to be the suggestion.
By contrast, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan tried to help their citizens acquire masks, and have had much lower infection rates than most Western countries.
Camerota also repeated the discredited myth that President Trump suggested that people drink disinfectants and caused a spike in people calling poison control centers when, in fact, the jump in calls to poison control centers happened in March. The CNN host claimed:
CAMEROTA: Let's not forget that President Trump also suggested well after that that one way to get rid of the virus in humans is -- was possibly to ingest bleach. And then hotlines across the country -- medical hotlines, doctors' hotlines, hospitals -- lit up with people wondering if they should be drinking bleach.
But President Trump never used the word "drink," "ingest," or "bleach" as he actually mused mover whether doctors might be able to use "disinfectants" to treat patients via "injecting" them, as he appeared to misunderstand a presentation by Homeland Security medical expert Dr ,William Bryan.
Relevant transcripts follow:
6:01 a.m. Eastern
ALISYN CAMEROTA: As the pandemic worsens, the Trump administration is attempting to damage the reputation of the top infectious disease expert in the United States. They're putting out a list of negative research on Dr. Anthony Fauci. In other words, they're using oppo research against their top expert as if he were a political opponent.
A White House official says some of the President's allies do not think that Mr. Fauci has Mr. Trump's best interests in mind. Of course, President Trump has been wrong on virtually every issue since the pandemic began. He has pushed misinformation for months. If you'll remember, he suggested ingesting bleach to cure the virus.
(...)
6:07 a.m. Eastern
JOE JOHNS: Some of the issues they raise the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things -- things like not needing to wear a mask or the virus does not spread asymptomatically. These are both incorrect -- however, they are things we didn't know at the time, and now many doctors and scientists and doctors had said earlier.
It's important also to say that the President himself has been wrong multiple times, including suggesting this virus was just going to go away magically and downplaying it generally in his statements across the country.
(...)
6:24 a.m.
CAMEROTA: Let's not forget that President Trump also suggested well after that that one way to get rid of the virus in humans is -- was possibly to ingest bleach. And then hotlines across the country -- medical hotlines, doctors' hotlines, hospitals -- lit up with people wondering if they should be drinking bleach.
(...)
7:08 a.m.
Dr. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let me show you one quick example because this was an example the White House is using to say, "Hey, look, Dr. Fauci, you know, he's a nice guy, but he's not always right." I want you to hear the beginning of this interview, and then also listen to the back part of it as well. Just listen really quick here.
PETER ALEXANDER (from February 29, Today show on NBC): Should we be changing our habits? And if so, how?
Dr. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: No, right now, at this moment, there is no need to change anything that you're doing on a day-by-day basis.
Dr. GUPTA: Now, that was February 29th, okay? That's where the White House says, "Hey, look, he got it wrong, right?" "No need to change anything on a day-by-day basis." The problem is -- and we see this over and over again -- they eliminated the rest of what Dr. Fauci said. Listen to this.
Dr. FAUCI (from the February 29 Today show): Right now, the risk is still low, but this could change. I've said that many times even on this program. You got to watch out because, although the risk is low now -- you don't need to change anything that you're doing -- when you start to see community spread, this could change and force you to become much more attentive to doing things that would protect you from spread.
Dr. GUPTA: So there you go, right? Therein lies the context. Did everybody know everything at the very beginning of this pandemic? No. That's why, in part, this is a novel coronavirus -- a new coronavirus -- and so everyone was figuring things out, but the point is that even back then, February 29th, Dr. Fauci said, "Here's the trigger -- if we start to see community spread, that changes the game." So he wasn't wrong -- it's just that it hadn't happened yet, and that's the point he was trying to make.
JOHN BERMAN: How does Dr. Fauci feel about these attacks? I think we're getting reporting just in that he's going to be at the White House today for meetings, but does Dr. Fauci feel like he wants to stick around?
Dr. GUPTA: Yes, I think that that's very much still the case. I think he wants to stick around. I mean, I think he's feeling a little beaten up by all of this -- I think there's no question about it. And -- but he is seeing a lot of support, you know the National Academy is coming to his defense. Many of the large medical organizations coming to his defense. And then, you know, people, you know, making sure to point out that, look, again, we are learning as we go along here. Nobody knew everything from the very start, including Dr. Fauci. But that's very different than saying, "Hey, the guy was intentionally wrong," or somehow misleading in some way, which is what seems to be the suggestion.
