Former Trump adviser fires back at Dr. Birx over her coronavirus accusations: 'It is an Orwellian attempt to rewrite history'



Dr. Scott Atlas, a former medical adviser to former President Donald Trump, fired back at accusations from Dr. Deborah Birx, who also worked in the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, excerpts of congressional testimony from Birx were released where she accused the Trump administration of being too distracted by the election. She also claimed in the comments from early October that 30% to 40% of the coronavirus deaths during Trump's term could have been avoided.

She went on to blame some voices skeptical of social distancing guidelines.

"Do I think that we could have done more on unified messaging coming out of the White House?" Birx asked rhetorically. "Do I think we could have done more on — very early on showing the efficacy of masks? Yes. And I think that would have decreased the confusion."

Atlas immediately fired back at Birx.

"It is an Orwellian attempt to rewrite history to blame those who criticized the lockdowns that were widely implemented for the failure of the lockdowns that were widely implemented," said Atlas in a statement Tuesday.

"The policy recommendations of Dr. Birx as Coordinator of the White House Task Force were implemented by governors throughout nearly the entire nation during 2020. Those policies failed to stop the dying, failed to stop the infection from spreading, and inflicted massive health damage and destruction, particularly on working class and lower-income families and on our children," he continued.

"History's biggest failure of public health policy lies directly at the hands of those who recommended the lockdowns and those who implemented them, not on those who advised otherwise. Period," he concluded.

Atlas went on to deny that he advised to "let the infection widely without mitigation to achieve herd immunity."

The denial by Atlas seemed at odds with comments he made in October 2020 advocating for lower-risk people to become infected.

Here's more about the coronavirus in the U.S.:

Signs Of Hope As New Coronavirus Cases Drop In The USwww.youtube.com

Birx claims that with full mask mandates and more restrictions, deaths could have been reduced significantly



Former coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx testified that coronavirus deaths could have been far lower under the Trump administration but that White House officials were distracted by the election.

Birx made the comments during closed-door testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis earlier in October. Excepts from her testimony were published Tuesday by the Washington Post.

"I felt like the White House had gotten somewhat complacent through the campaign season, and I wanted to make sure that as soon as everyone was back the day after the election, that people would comprehensively reengage," Birx said during her testimony.

She went on to say that about 100,000 deaths during the Trump administration could have been avoidable.

"I believe if we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, that we probably could have decreased fatalities into the 30 percent less to 40 percent less range," Birx told the panel.

She also criticized the administration for listening to other voices who were skeptical about the efficacy of official social distancing guidelines.

"Do I think that we could have done more on unified messaging coming out of the White House?" Birx asked rhetorically. "Do I think we could have done more on — very early on showing the efficacy of masks? Yes. And I think that would have decreased the confusion."

Despite her critical comments, many on the left excoriated Birx for not speaking out against Trump while she was still in the administration.

"Trump enablers like her are trying to rehab their image through media hits & book deals. Do not let them! Dr. Scarves why the F didn't you expose him A YEAR AGO?!" tweeted activist Lindy Li.

"She sat there and supported him and did NOTHING except change her f***ing scarf. She's no better than him," read another popular tweet.

Coronavirus cases and deaths appear to have plateaued from a recent spike due to the delta variant.

Here's more about the declining coronavirus pandemic:

Signs Of Hope As New Coronavirus Cases Drop In The USwww.youtube.com