Fauci: 'New and disturbing' level of anger directed at me from politicians
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Monday he was met with "disturbing" levels of anger when he testified in front of the House in early June.
Fauci earlier this month testified before the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which questioned him about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fauci said that the treatment he has received in recent years as a public figure is "quite new and disturbing" when asked about his congressional testimony on June 3.
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"What we’re seeing now," Fauci said on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," is "vitriol and pure hostility."
"Now it’s pure attack, which is just, I believe, a reflection of the profound degree of divisiveness in the country, which is very destructive," Fauci added.
"There was always politics, there were people of different ideologies, there was center, center-left, center-right, they disagreed and they sometimes would argue with each other," Fauci said. "But at the end of the day, there was civility and respect for each other."
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Fauci said he was questioned in a "very strict" and "pushing way" in previous administrations, but added that the American political environment has changed. He also said "there is a degree of schizophrenia in the country" and political division.
Lawmakers questioned Fauci throughout the June 3 hearing over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's six-feet distancing rule, the masking of schoolchildren and other pandemic era restrictions.
Fauci testified affirmatively each time when Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, asked if business closures, church closures, school closures and stay at home order were justified.
Fauci said mask mandates, including those for children under the age of 5, were in the context of the time "when 5,000 people a day were dying."
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.