A Fox News host asked Fauci a question. She got the wrong answer.

By Greg Sargent
Opinion writer
April 17, 2020 at 10:26 a.m. EDT

Only hours after President Trump released his vague new plan for reopening the economy, one that does not include anywhere near the testing we’ll need, Fox News host Laura Ingraham tried to get Anthony Fauci to trash Joe Biden’s response to Trump’s new rollout.

It did not go as planned.

The exchange perfectly captures a profound problem bedeviling Trump and his media allies. They urgently need to minimize the continuing threat of coronavirus, to buttress Trump’s case for reopening the economy quickly — in keeping with his reelection needs.

But pushing that line risks making Trump appear cavalier about the virus while deaths mount past 30,000 and experts warn that a rush to reopen could prove catastrophic. So they also must demonstrate that Trump’s call for a reopening is the argument that’s truly grounded in science.

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Ingraham tried mightily to enlist Fauci’s help in making this problem disappear, but inadvertently revealed why making it disappear is impossible — which has important ramifications for what’s about to unfold.

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