Late-night television host Stephen Colbert asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, 83, if he had any interest in running for the Oval Office.
The question pitched by Colbert comes amid scrutiny over the ages of President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 78, while they both seek a second presidential term.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said “no” to the possibility of running for office and instead reflected on the division within the country, which he called “disturbing.”
“Back when I first became director of the institute, which was, I had been director for almost 40 years, in the beginning, it was always politics. There was people of different ideology, there was centers, center left, center right,” Fauci said. “They disagreed, and they sometimes would argue with each other, but at the end of the day, there was civility and respect for each other. What we’re seeing now is what you had mentioned, Stephen: It’s vitriol and pure hostility.”
Fauci’s comments follow his testimony before Congress earlier this month, which was conducted before a subcommittee investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The former NIH head was mostly defended by Democratic lawmakers during his testimony as he answered heated questions from Republicans.
Colbert also asked Fauci how he would diagnose the United States, to which Fauci joked that one would need “a surgeon, not an internist.” Additionally, Fauci said that there is “a degree of schizophrenia” in the U.S., claiming that people are so far apart that they’ve forgotten “how much alike we are.”
Fauci’s appearance on the show was made the day before his new book, On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, released. The book serves as his memoir recounting both his personal and professional life.
During Fauci’s testimony before Congress, he denied accusations from lawmakers that he had concealed information about the origins of COVID-19 or had knowledge of his former senior adviser’s use of his personal email for official business. He also said that the 6-feet social distancing guideline during the pandemic “sort of just appeared.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has demanded that Fauci testify before the House Judiciary Committee regarding the censorship of information on COVID-19’s origins on social media. Jordan said in a letter to Fauci that his testimony before the House Oversight Committee was “false on its face” regarding his denial that he pressured social media companies to downplay the lab leak theory of origin.
The Judiciary Committee is requesting Fauci to respond to scheduling a transcribed interview by Friday.