Yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci took the podium to ostensibly answer questions, but it was mostly to bask in the glow of non-stop media praise. He had successfully threaded the needle and it was time for his victory lap. Fauci had managed to not get fired under Trump despite constantly undermining that administration, only to be elevated and lauded in the new administration as a purveyor of science. All his past failures, bad guesses, and lies need not apply. Being a career bureaucrat certainly comes with its perks.

During the presser, Fauci made clear that he’s the left-wing, partisan hack many on the right have painted him as in the last year. Not only did he bash Trump, he did so in a way that is provably a lie.

Fauci last year: “I have never been muzzled ever, and I’ve been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan. I’m not being muzzled by this admin.”

Fauci when asked if he was forced to say certain things: "Everything I do is voluntarily. Please. Don't even imply that.” https://t.co/6MpYchTSlc

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 22, 2021

Fauci routinely asserted his independence under Trump, insisting he was able to speak freely. Was he lying then? Or is he lying now? Honestly, I’m not sure it matters because he’s a liar either way, but there’s certainly much more evidence for the latter. Namely, that Fauci is now putting on a show for his new boss and just making things up. Under Trump, Fauci routinely went on hostile cable news programs to take shots at the administration. He clearly had no qualms about speaking his mind, so this idea that he was somehow muzzled (even though at the time he said he wasn’t muzzled) simply doesn’t pass muster.

Fauci didn’t stop there, though. He also took another veiled shot, attempting to shift blame from his dismal record on COVID. Our own Kira Davis had a comment on that yesterday.

Just guess? Like you were just guessing in March when you told us masks were useless and we were idiots for using them? These are not serious people. This is not a serious person. https://t.co/kwtJXqYaTm

— Kira (@RealKiraDavis) January 21, 2021

This is Fauci’s attempt to suggest that he’s not responsible for the multiple lies he told during the pandemic, including about masks, herd immunity, and the effectiveness of the vaccine. You see, it was just that bad orange man telling him to “guess.” You’ll recall that this clown once said he didn’t expect a vaccine to be anywhere close to 90% effective. In the end, it turned out to be 95%. He originally said don’t wear masks before saying to wear masks despite precious little evidence they do much of anything. He also undershot estimates on herd immunity, admitting he lied in order to affect behavior.

And this is the guy who is now going to be advising Biden on the next round of lockdowns, mask mandates, and the number of other things he’s clearly not qualified to speak on. Does his record of failure mean nothing at this point? Probably not, but it should.

In the end, Fauci was always a hack. You could see it after the first few weeks of him being on the national stage. We knew he was a Democrat, but the right are always suckers, with most treating Fauci as an infallible figure who couldn’t possibly let his partisanship affect his work. Only in the past several months have most on our side come around to the truth. This guy flopped under Trump, and now he’s laughing it up under Biden because he knows he got away with it.

(Please follow me on Twitter…@bonchieredstate)