Home WebMail Friday, November 1, 2024, 09:25 AM | Calgary | -4.8°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2021-01-26T01:30:53Z | Updated: 2021-01-26T01:30:53Z

CNN s Brianna Keilar wasnt having any of Dr. Deborah Birx s excuses for the tsunami of dangerous COVID-19 lies that poured from the White House when she was coordinator of the Trump administrations coronavirus response.

Birx is a cautionary tale about letting politics and power warp science until it is no longer science, Keilar said on Roll the Tape Monday.

Despite Birxs recent attempts to distance herself from the Trump administration, Keilar was dismissive of what she called the doctors apology tour. She played a news clip of Birx gushing that Trump was so attentive to scientific literature and facts early on in the pandemic.

On Face the Nation on Sunday, Birx shrugged off responsibility for misinformation from the White House about the pandemic and said the president was receiving a parallel stream of misleading data that overshadowed the accurate information Birx said she was providing.

When Trump appallingly suggested during a nationally televised news conference last year that people might consider an injection of disinfectant to battle the coronavirus , Birx appeared to grimace and not say anything. She insisted on CBS, however, that she uttered the words no treatment at the time not particularly definitive, dismissive or instructive in any case. Days later, Birx said that Trump was only expressing musings.

Her milquetoast answers gave life to really bad advice from Trump, Keilar stated. And keep in mind, the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] had to put out a warning on ingesting disinfectants after a spike in calls to poison centers.

When Birx was asked on CBS why she didnt speak up to correct misinformation like infectious disease expert and task force scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci did, she said she wasnt given the opportunity as often as he was to speak at news conferences. But she often spoke at news conferences and was relentlessly cheery. Fauci, on the other hand, said he was proud of his reputation as the skunk at the picnic who constantly sounded a note of caution about the pandemic.

Keilar called Birxs behavior a disturbing lesson for other scientists.

If they dont stand up for science when it counts, when lives are on the line, their reputation can be wiped away, she concluded. In Birxs case, she said, all it took was a little bleach.

Check out Keilars full comments in the clip up top.

Please welcome Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx. pic.twitter.com/OMtsE8dcLS

Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 13, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Saturday Night Live - SNL","author_url":"https://twitter.com/nbcsnl","cache_age":86400,"description":"Please welcome Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx. pic.twitter.com/OMtsE8dcLS Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpF-Ff-WMAEztMA.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Saturday Night Live - SNL on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1337989582483238917","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"600f4c6bc5b676ad8376629e","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/cnn-brianna-keilar-deborah-birx_n_600f4c6bc5b676ad8376629e","entryTagsList":"coronavirus,covid-19,anthony-fauci,brianna-keilar,deborah-birx,@coronavirus_label_us","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"health,us-news,media","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":16},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"600f4c6bc5b676ad8376629e","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Coronavirus","slug":"coronavirus","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/coronavirus","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/coronavirus","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/coronavirus"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Coronavirus (COVID-19)","slug":"coronavirus","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/coronavirus"},{"name":"COVID-19","slug":"covid-19","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/covid-19","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/covid-19","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/covid-19"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"COVID-19","slug":"covid-19","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/covid-19"},{"name":"Anthony Fauci","slug":"anthony-fauci","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/anthony-fauci","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/anthony-fauci","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/anthony-fauci"},"relegenceId":3570524,"url":"https://action.news/topic/anthony-fauci"},{"name":"Brianna Keilar","slug":"brianna-keilar","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/brianna-keilar","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/brianna-keilar","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/brianna-keilar"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/brianna-keilar"},{"name":"Deborah Birx","slug":"deborah-birx","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/deborah-birx","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/deborah-birx","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/deborah-birx"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/deborah-birx"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n","
\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Please welcome Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx. pic.twitter.com/OMtsE8dcLS

Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 13, 2020

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus

As COVID-19 cases rise, its more important than ever to remain connected and informed. Join the HuffPost community today. (Its free!)