Re: 'The Ignoble Lie' [Editorial, Village News, 11/4/21]

Hoover Institution’s Victor Davis Hanson is certainly a good choice to tell us about lying, since he has first hand experience, which he presents here.

He starts with saying Dr. Fauci lied when he said masks were of little use. According to Reuters: “A video circulating on social media shows Dr Anthony Fauci, … saying ‘there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.’ Fauci’s remarks were made on March 8, 2020 and do not represent his current stance on face coverings nor the updated guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” (Oct 8, 2020).

Next, he says Dr. Fauci keeps lying about the percentage of people needed to be vaccinated for herd immunity. Here’s what Dr. Fauci said, “When polls said only about half of all Americans would take a vaccine, I was saying herd immunity would take 70 to 75%... Then, when newer surveys said 60% or more would take it, I thought, "I can nudge this up a bit," so I went to 80, 85. We need to have some humility here .... We really don’t know what the real number is. I think the real range is somewhere between 70 to 90%. But, I'm not going to say 90%." See Axios, Dec 25, 2020. In other words, it’s a moving target that changes as we learn more about the virus. That’s science.

And Hanson continues in that vein – more of the same.

But how about the COVID-19 lies from our former Liar-in-Chief?

On Feb. 27, 2020, Trump said: It’s going to disappear. One day – it’s like a miracle – it will disappear.

On March 10, Trump said: And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.

On April 3, Trump said: It is going to go away. It is going away.

On May 5, Trump said:...with or without a vaccine, it’s going to pass….

On June 15, Trump said:...at some point this stuff goes away and it’s going away.

On July 19, Trump said: I’ll say it again. It’s going to disappear….

On Aug. 17, Trump said: it’s gonna be gone soon.

On Sept. 15, Trump said: It is gonna disappear. It’s gonna disappear.

On Oct. 22, Trump said: It will go away, and as I say, we’re rounding the turn, we’re rounding the corner. It’s going away. (Presidential debate)

But it didn’t go away: to date, more than 750,000 Americans are dead, due to COVID-19.

John H. Terrell