Trump’s Favorite COVID Adviser Goes on Kremlin-Backed RT to Blast Lockdowns as ‘Epic Failure’ Scott Atlas also made a point to complain about criticism he’s faced for his coronavirus guidance, calling it a “sad statement” that the media “destroyed” him. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump...-goes-on-kremlin-funded-rt-to-blast-lockdowns Trump’s favorite COVID-19 adviser appeared on Russia’s state-controlled RT network late Saturday to declare the coronavirus pandemic mostly under control and insist that it’s actually lockdowns that are “killing people.” Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist, was introduced on RT’sGoing Undergroundas “one of the only two men the U.S. president apparently listens to on the pandemic.” He conceded that COVID-19 has been “deadly” and stressed that “there’s no understating that.” But he went on to state that many lives had also been “lost from the policy of shutdowns,” which he described as an “epic failure of public policy by people who refuse to accept they were wrong.” “The public health leadership… They’re killing people with their fear-inducing shutdown policies,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to. Contrary to his claims, studies have actually shown that tens of thousands of lives could have been saved with earlier lockdowns. Atlas went on to complain about the criticism he has faced since joining the president’s task force after Trump saw him on Fox News echoing many of his own ideas about the virus. “When you come up and you stand next to the president of the United States in an attempt to help the country in the biggest crisis of the world, you must be destroyed by the media in the United States. It’s a sad statement in America that the U.S. is hysterical over this,” Atlas said. Atlas’ appearance on the network came as another member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force expressed “real problems” with him in an interview with The Washington Post. Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious diseases expert who has faced the ire of Trump and his allies for daring to contradict the president’s rosy claims, said Atlas was a “smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense.”
And a mere one day later Scott Atlas is groveling and begging forgiveness. He should also be begging forgiveness for providing misinformation to the American public that is a significant contributor to foreseeable deaths, such as discouraging mask-wearing, undermining state and local government public health orders, and dismissing lockdowns. Dr. Scott Atlas, White House Coronavirus Task Force adviser, apologizes for interview with Russian propaganda network https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/01/media/scott-atlas-russian-media/index.html Dr. Scott Atlas, an adviser on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, apologized after appearing in an interview with Russian state broadcaster RT, just days before Election Day. In his apology, Atlas claimed he was unaware RT was a registered foreign agent. RT is owned by Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti and subsidiary RT America is registered with the US Justice Department as an agent of the Russian government. The Kremlin uses RT to spread English-language propaganda to American audiences, and was part of Russia's election meddling in 2016, according to a 2017 report from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Twitter labeled a video from the Russian-state controlled broadcaster RT as election misinformation on Thursday. YouTube videos posted by RT carry the disclaimer: "RT is funded in whole or in part by the Russian government." Earlier this year, an internal intelligence bulletin issued by the Department of Homeland Security said Russia was amplifying disinformation about mail-in voting as part of a broader effort "to undermine public trust in the electoral process." In its filing to register as a foreign agent, RT's production company in the United States said its role is to "inform, not influence" and "are not aimed to primarily benefit any foreign government or political party." A senior White House official told CNN Sunday that Atlas did not have clearance from the Trump administration for his interview with RT. The official said Atlas "did it on his own without approval by the White House." Senior aides raised concerns internally after Atlas appeared on RT, the source said. RT said the interview was done from the White House property. Dubious claims In the 27-minute interview on Saturday, Atlas made a series of dubious claims. For example, Atlas misrepresented the effectiveness of masks, suggested that lockdowns kill people and discouraged testing of asymptomatic people. He also dismissed forecasts from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine that forecasts 399,000 coronavirus deaths in the US by February 1 under current conditions. "The IHME model is really sort -- it's absurd to start looking at this model at this point," Atlas said. "At this point in time anybody who's even focusing on models has not learned from the past." In July, the IHME model predicted 208,255 Americans would have died from coronavirus by Nov. 1. In fact, according to Johns Hopkins University, 230,566 people have died as of Nov. 1. Atlas is a radiologist and who has no expertise in infectious diseases or epidemiology. Atlas' history of controversy In October, Twitter removed a tweet from Atlas that sought to undermine the importance of wearing a face mask, because Atlas' tweet was in violation of the its Covid-19 Misleading Information Policy, a spokesman for the company told CNN. The tweet said, "Masks work? NO" followed by a series of falsehoods about the science behind the effectiveness of masks in combating the pandemic. He also encouraged officials to limit Covid-19 testing mainly to people experiencing symptoms. And on August 31, Atlas and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged public health officials in several Florida cities to focus less on universal testing and more on opening the economy and schools. Trump has relied on Atlas for advice on handling the coronavirus. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, has criticized Atlas, a neuroradiologist and Trump's hand-picked coronavirus adviser, for his lack of expertise. "I have real problems with that guy," Fauci said in an interview with the Washington Post Friday. "He's a smart guy who's talking about things that I believe he doesn't have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn't make any sense." Atlas responded to Fauci on Twitter, tweeting on Saturday night: #Insecurity #EmbarrassingHimself #Exposed #CantThrowABall #NoTimeForPolitics.
Atlas follows in Trump's path and calls on people to Rise Up and assault their government officials in Michigan. Trump coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas urges Michigan to 'rise up' against new Covid-19 measures https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/politics/scott-atlas-coronavirus-michigan/index.html White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas criticized Michigan's new Covid-19 restrictions in a tweet shortly after they were announced Sunday evening, urging people to "rise up" against the new public health measures. "The only way this stops is if people rise up," Atlas said. "You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp" His message -- which runs counter to the consensus of public health officials -- is likely to fuel new tension between the White House and Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whom federal and state officials announced last month was the target of an alleged domestic terrorism kidnapping plot. Responding to Atlas' tweet Sunday evening, Whitmer told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, "We know that the White House likes to single us out here in Michigan, me out in particular. I'm not going to be bullied into not following reputable scientists and medical professionals." Instead, Whitmer said, she consults "people that actually have studied and are well respected worldwide on these issues, not the -- not the individual that is doing the President's bidding on this one." Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel echoed that message in a pair of tweets Sunday evening, casting Atlas' posting as, "disappointing, irresponsible, and the reason why the United States finds itself in such desperate circumstances regarding COVID-19." "I look forward to a new federal administration that works cooperatively with our state government to protect Michigan residents," Nessel, a Democrat, said. "A patriot," she continued, "is one who protects America from its enemies, both foreign and domestic." "COVID-19 is the enemy, not each other. Stop pitting Americans against each other and start supporting policies proven to effectively fight the virus." Whitmer announced in a news conference earlier Sunday that Michigan will begin a "three-week pause targeting indoor social gatherings and other group activities" to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. "If everyone does their part, we will see a big benefit from it," she told Blitzer of the new measures. "But we'll be assessing it every step of the way." Throughout the pandemic, Whitmer has been the focus of extreme vitriol from far-right groups. The alleged scheme to kidnap her included plans to overthrow several state governments that the suspects "believe are violating the US Constitution," according to a federal criminal complaint. Still, she joins a slate of officials who are tightening their restrictions as coronavirus cases continue to soar. The United States surpassed 11 million coronavirus cases on Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The latest milestone comes just six days after the US recorded 10 million cases. It was the fastest the US has added one million new cases since the pandemic began. Unlike the government medical experts who advised Trump in the early months of the pandemic, Atlas has adopted a public stance on the virus much closer to the President's -- including decrying the idea that schools cannot reopen this fall as "hysteria" and pushing for the resumption of college sports. "He's working with us and will be working with us on the coronavirus," Trump said in August. "And he has many great ideas. And he thinks what we've done is really good, and now we'll take it to a new level."
You rally about fake news and yet do everything you can to make up your own fake news whenever possible. Please show me where he called for "assaulting" government officials. Anywhere.
Making this type of post directed at a state where the Governor already has kidnapping plots against her from Trumper right-wing extremists is unacceptable and pretty much a call to violence. At least that is how rational people will read it. What's next -- a Trump administration official tweeting "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome governor".
So, just to be clear, you said it, not him. The man clarified he meant rise up in terms of voting for their elected leaders, which is how anyone not pushing a narrative would take it. The latest example of your bullshit and hypocrisy.
Bullshiat --- no reasonable Washington official should be urging people to "rise up" in a state where violent agitators are threatening to kidnap and kill the governor. What's next -- a Trump administration official tweeting "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome governor".
Right, so again, you claim to know what the man meant before he did. If he meant to rise up and assault, why did he clarify? You're fake news, as usual gwb.
Would any rational person who is part of a federal administration tweet "Rise Up" at a state where the governor is being threatened by violent militants? The answer is "No". But Scott Atlas is not rational -- you can see this from all the other incorrect nonsense he pushes about COVID which goes against proper public health practices and horrifies most of the medical community.
You keep using your definition of "rational" as if it should be applied to the rest of us. I think you kind of threw out your right to be the authority of rational behavior when you told us that not wearing a mask was the same thing as putting a gun to the head of your family and pulling the trigger. Or when you told us we should lock down all schools and prevent tens of millions of students from going to school because 100 have died around the country. This, to you, is rational. Pardon me, but if you are the example of rational behavior, I think I'd prefer insanity and many here would probably agree.