In the ongoing Republican Olympics of ignorance — which might as well be a real event at this point rather than a metaphor — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has emerged with a belligerent new rant against Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci has worked on the White House’s response to the virus, and President-elect Joe Biden has already asked Fauci to stay on in the incoming administration. Fauci advised against traveling for the holidays, and Jordan… took issue with this advice, to say the least. On Twitter, Jordan suggested that Fauci might “cancel” saying “Merry Christmas” next, and just… what? Jordan’s comments are laughable.
Jordan tweeted the following message:
‘Dr. Fauci says Americans should “avoid travel” over the holidays. What will he cancel next? Saying Merry Christmas?’
Dr. Fauci says Americans should “avoid travel” over the holidays.
What will he cancel next?
Saying Merry Christmas?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 4, 2020
There’s just no meaningful legitimacy to Jordan’s tweet whatsoever. Obviously, Fauci isn’t going to be “cancelling” the holiday greeting of “Merry Christmas.” Why on earth would he even do that? How would he even do that? Does Jordan not get the very real underpinning for advising against travel for the holidays? In the United States, over 279,000 people have died of COVID-19, Johns Hopkins University says, and about 14.3 million cases have been reported in the country. These numbers grow the more that people interact, especially in crowded, close-quarters conditions like those of traveling for the holidays. Avoiding travel for the holidays could, quite literally, be a matter of life and death for many Americans and their loved ones. These concepts are not complicated. How is Jordan this ignorant? Is it willful? Desperate political posturing? Something else? Fauci doesn’t even have regulatory authority — his comments are just advice!
As his presidency draws to a close, Donald Trump certainly hasn’t leaped into action to lead the country through the pandemic. What has he even actively done lately besides tweet outright lies about the election? Americans are struggling around the country; millions are unemployed, about 100,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, and the U.S. hit a new one-day record of newly reported COVID-19 cases just this Friday. Where’s Trump?
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.8 million tests, 225k cases, and 2,563 deaths. There are 101,276 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US. Both case and hospitalization counts surpassed yesterday's all-time highs. pic.twitter.com/Dp5ulEr0OA
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) December 5, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response to Jordan’s nonsense below:
