Americans do not overwhelmingly trust Dr. Anthony Fauci’s opinions on the Chinese coronavirus, an I&I/TIPP Poll released Monday found.
“Generally speaking, how much trust do you have in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s opinions related to coronavirus?” the survey asked.
Fewer than half trust Fauci’s opinions, as the survey found 47 percent expressing some level of trust. Of those, 26 percent said they have “a lot of trust,” compared to 21 percent who said they have “quite a bit of trust.”
Forty-one percent, however, said they either have “little trust” or “no trust at all.” Another 13 percent remain unsure.
Predictably, most Democrats trust Fauci, as 45 percent say they have “a lot of trust” and 27 percent say they have “quite a bit” of trust. However, only 21 percent of Republicans feel the same way. Independents tend to side with the Republican view, as 49 percent express little to no trust in Fauci, compared to 36 percent who express some level of trust:
Just 13% of Democrats say they have little trust in the chief medical bureaucrat charged with managing the U.S. response to the pandemic, while only 5% say they have no trust at all. That’s a total of just 18%.
Republicans’ lack of trust is evident in the overall number of 70% who lack faith in Fauci, with 22% saying they have little faith, and a sizeable 48% plurality saying they have none.
Independents, once again, split the difference between the two major parties. Just 16% say they grant Fauci a lot of trust, and 20% award him “quite a bit,” for a total of 36%.
The survey comes as public health officials now sound the alarm over the Omicron variant. Fauci, indeed, has a history of flip flopping and avoiding the truth throughout the pandemic — from his position on masks to his denial of funding gain of function research. More recently, Fauci has seemingly backtracked on his previous assertions that vaccinations would be the answer for Americans to return to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy, as he is now suggesting that vaccinated and boosted Americans need to do more, including wearing masks and getting tested.
