Dr. Anthony Fauci is playing the long game. That’s my suspicion given his change in demeanor over the last few months and his latest comments. Any deference he used to show to the White House is gone, and he’s regularly making the media rounds to contradict and push back against Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.

Now, he’s predicting doom again if we don’t do exactly what he says we should do, as if the lockdowns weren’t disastrous and ineffective enough the first time around.

"The models tell us that if we do not do the kinds of things that we're talking about in the cold of the fall and the winter, we could have from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths," Dr. Anthony Fauci warns. "That would be just so tragic if that happens." https://t.co/tcopD5nX13 pic.twitter.com/VjRQWsJlWz

— ABC News (@ABC) October 7, 2020

The “kinds of things” he’s talking about are mask mandates and future lockdowns as we enter a possible “second wave” with the seasonal change. Of course, all those things have done in the past is delay the inevitable. New York, where 33,000 people have died, was being held up as a shining light of progress by the media not too long ago. Now, they are seeing spikes in cases and deaths again. If that level of lockdown hasn’t worked there to “crush the virus”, why in the world would anyone assume something similar would work elsewhere? There is no scientific answer to that question and Fauci knows it.

But what Fauci is doing here is setting himself up for the future. He sees Joe Biden possibly winning the presidency, and the former VP has already pledged to retain the doctor as a top advisor. That means that Fauci is playing to a different tune these days. More importantly, it also means that his worst is yet to come.

Under a Biden administration, Fauci would have no limitations placed on him. There wouldn’t be a Scott Atlas to balance the conversation. The entire country would end up looking like New York, no matter how much evidence there is that the strategies there were an abject disaster. Remember, Fauci has praised Gov. Cuomo as doing things right despite the terrible results.

Of course, even what Fauci is saying here is nonsensical. Will we have 300-400K COVID deaths? Yes, probably, but that will be a result of the fact that this virus will likely always be with us. If you count deaths as a conglomerate long enough, you’ll reach those numbers.

The models tell us that if we run 40 PCR cycles and death certificate match, we are going to have lots of deaths we can call Covid forever. And we are going to count them and publicize them and use them like you wouldn't believe.

That would be just so tragic if that happens. https://t.co/UldLm46hNn

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) October 7, 2020

This is more baseless fearmongering that presents the pandemic completely out of a realistic context. We cannot live in isolation and terror forever of a virus we can’t magically defeat. We have done all the mitigation that is possible to manage at this point. We are developing vaccines and therapeutics. But Fauci wants draconian measures because that’s what he’s staked his name and reputation on since the beginning. That Trump sidelined him was a great service to the country. If Joe Biden is elected, Fauci will be front and center, free to enact his will again. Vote accordingly.

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)