White House coronavirus adviser Atlas apologizes for Russian TV interview

 

FILE PHOTO: White House pandemic adviser Scott Atlas speaks to reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 23, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas apologized on Sunday for giving an interview to Russia's Kremlin-backed television station RT, saying he was unaware the outlet was a registered foreign agent in the United States.

 

Atlas, a neuroradiologist and member of the White House coronavirus task force, appeared on the channel on Saturday and criticized coronavirus lockdowns measures, calling them an "epic failure" at stopping the virus' spread.

 

"I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent," Atlas wrote on Twitter. "I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of.

 

"I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us," Atlas said.

 

RT registered as a foreign agent three years ago. A January 2017 report from U.S. intelligence agencies said the television station, which broadcasts on cable in the United States, is "Russia's state-run propaganda machine" and that it contributed to the Kremlin's campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election in favor of the winning candidate, Republican President Donald Trump.

 

After that report, the U.S. Department of Justice insisted that RT America comply with requirements under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).

 

"The lockdowns ... will go down as an epic failure of public policy by people who refused to accept they were wrong," Atlas told RT in the Saturday interview.

 

Public health experts in the United States have previously raised concerns that Atlas, who has no background in infectious diseases, is providing misleading or incorrect information on the pandemic to Trump.

 

Anthony Fauci, the leading U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Saturday that Atlas is the only pandemic adviser who Trump regularly sees.

 

"I have real problems with that guy," Fauci told the Washington Post. "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."

 

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-02

 

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Forgiven. Now, quit!

Trump's hand picked guy makes a fool of himself trying to impress Trump. Not the first time. Hopefully one of the last. Come on Trump just stick with Fauci. He may not say what you always want to hear but he knows what he's talking about.

Right to the end a Trump employee gets it wrong. Par for the course. His job references are not going to be worth a lot!

This separates the men from the boys, he's a boy.

3 minutes ago, pookondee said:

 

Really?

So, you want to keep hearing Fauci (more or less) saying that life will never be the same again?

 

and you still believe he hasn't got an agenda? 

 

All this when the WHO and many other professionals are now saying its time to quit the lockdowns, as they are finally realizing that the cure is worse than the disease.

 

Fauci says ridiculously negative things that he can't possibly prove, predict or have knowledge of..

Such as his comment a few months ago, that life wont be normal again for another 5 years.

 

I dont like Trump but i do like that he calls Fauci an idiot and dismisses him.

 

We need positive thinkers and people who can find ways of solving problems,

NOT guys like Fauci, who's obviously getting nice kickbacks from somewhere,

 and who's whole career in the limelight depends on the world remaining stagnant and in misery.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am tempted not to reply because, when I do reply to this type of post, I often find the comments I reply too are deleted due to factual errors and mine is too.

You can argue the merits of lockdowns. I live in Melbourne having just finished one of the longest lockdowns. Harsh. Possibly too long with major side effects. But now the future is bright. The rest of Australia and New Zealand had much shorter lockdowns with big success.

I agree that lockdowns have some bad outcomes but I also am not that cynical that I think governments would introduce them unless it was necessary as the governments would have no benefit in doing so.

As to your other accusations about Fauci  I personally think it weakens your argument when you bring in unfounded conspiracy theories to make your case.

23 minutes ago, pookondee said:

 

Really?

So, you want to keep hearing Fauci (more or less) saying that life will never be the same again?

 

and you still believe he hasn't got an agenda? 

 

All this when the WHO and many other professionals are now saying its time to quit the lockdowns, as they are finally realizing that the cure is worse than the disease.

 

Fauci says ridiculously negative things that he can't possibly prove, predict or have knowledge of..

Such as his comment a few months ago, that life wont be normal again for another 5 years.

 

I dont like Trump but i do like that he calls Fauci an idiot and dismisses him.

 

We need positive thinkers and people who can find ways of solving problems,

NOT guys like Fauci, who's obviously getting nice kickbacks from somewhere,

 and who's whole career in the limelight depends on the world remaining stagnant and in misery.

 

Ahhhh yes of course I’d rather base my actions and interactions during a deadly pandemic on science and facts not on some unqualified trump yes man absolutely 100% prefer dr Fauci after all we all know trump hires only the best (major sarcasm alert) the way to solve the problem is follow safe protocols we all know it can’t belive that dude was so obtuse not to know who rt is unbelievable 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

"I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of".

Nevermind, the entire population is being taken advantage of by the clown in the White House!

Or, in other words, "I would like to keep my paycheck". 

18 minutes ago, pookondee said:

 

Maybe,

but to me, an "unfounded conspiracy theory" is more or less the same thing as these people who are saying life will never be normal again...and that international travel will not open for 2 years.

 

Both sides have no way of knowing or predicting this stuff.

And why even predict and spread such ridiculous dire stuff anyway? 

whats with that?

 

There certainly is no science in saying Covid will be with us forever, if we look at the history of viruses, yet everyone is in a panic.

 

I am Aussie to. What you guys endured in Melbourne was beyond crazy..for a handfull of infected 100s of 1000s are out of work or in hardship.

 

Another conspiracy theory for you..

 

You can forget about international travel.

The Australian government are not letting anyone leave Australia until all the welfare money (jobseeker and jobkeeper) is churned back into the economy.

Ive heard it a lot lately and im starting to think there could be some truth in it.

 

Its definately not.about covid, since outgoing travellers dont infect anyone where they are leaving. how silly.

 

Obviously anyone wanting to leave Australia now would be doing it for reasons of having ties (family, business) overseas,

 

They certainly would NOT be intending to come back to Australia any time soon, making sure they catch Covid first and then go running about infecting all and sundry.

 

 

The way I look at Fauci is that no one is perfect but as an infectious disease expert he's close to it. He may have made the odd comment months ago that turned out not be 100 per cent correct but everyone is learning through this process.

Boris Johnson is no fan of lockdowns but even he sees the writing on the wall. It just seems to be necessary in some extreme circumstances. It saves a lot of lives.

I think we are lucky in Australia now.

It is odd people can't leave Australia but I think the Australian Govt just doesn't want the drama of bring people back.

9 minutes ago, pookondee said:

Im not quoting him word for word but he said words to the effect:

This virus will be with us for possibly 5 years and we have to get used to it as there will be others coming that are worse.

 

So daมน why not just put a bullet in our heads now?

No wonder suicides are going up.

 

I just dont see any benefit in putting those kind of views out there and panicking people and having that sหit manifesting in peoples conciousness.

 

But i guess for those who want to live in constant doomsday mode, all power to em.

 

My second comment was an opinion. 

He is in the business of infectious diseases.

If there were none, he'd be out of a job. 

Thats much is undeniable.

 

Its no different to those with high ranking jobs in Pfizer.

If you believe they are all for the betterment of mankind..well...

He said nothing of the sort about 5 years. You made that up.

 

An opinion? Not obvious at all. You made a declarative statement that Fauci is obviously getting kickbacks.You stated that he is morally corrupt. Or do you believe that kickbacks don't signify corruption?

16 minutes ago, pookondee said:

Im not quoting him word for word but he said words to the effect:

This virus will be with us for possibly 5 years and we have to get used to it as there will be others coming that are worse.

 

So daมน why not just put a bullet in our heads now?

No wonder suicides are going up.

 

I just dont see any benefit in putting those kind of views out there and panicking people and having that sหit manifesting in peoples conciousness.

 

But i guess for those who want to live in constant doomsday mode, all power to em.

 

My second comment was an opinion. 

He is in the business of infectious diseases.

If there were none, he'd be out of a job. 

Thats much is undeniable.

 

Its no different to those with high ranking jobs in Pfizer.

If you believe they are all for the betterment of mankind..well...

Please do quote him word for word.

 

So you have nothing, nothing at all, to indicate, let alone proof, he is enriching himself. That's 'your opinion'.

Radiologist is trying to be a fake pandemic doctor How did trump move

16 minutes ago, placeholder said:

He said nothing of the sort about 5 years. You made that up.

 

An opinion? Not obvious at all. You made a declarative statement that Fauci is obviously getting kickbacks.You stated that he is morally corrupt. Or do you believe that kickbacks don't signify corruption?

https://www.axios.com/moderna-nih-coronavirus-vaccine-ownership-agreements-22051c42-2dee-4b19-938d-099afd71f6a0.html

 

Someone over at the NIH stands to benefit.

 

"The big picture: The NIH mostly funds outside research, but it also often invents basic scientific technologies that are later licensed out and incorporated into drugs that are sold at massive profits. The agency rarely claims ownership stakes or pursues patent rights, but that appears to be different with this coronavirus vaccine."

 

 

https://www.citizen.org/article/the-nih-vaccine/

 

 

Patent Applications

We found two patent application disclosures by federal scientists that appear relevant to a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. 

“2019-nCoV Vaccine.”[9]

U.S. Application no. 62/972,886

 

“Prefusion Coronavirus Spike Proteins and Their Use.”[13]

U.S. Application No. 16/344,774

Just now, steelepulse said:

https://www.axios.com/moderna-nih-coronavirus-vaccine-ownership-agreements-22051c42-2dee-4b19-938d-099afd71f6a0.html

 

Someone over at the NIH stands to benefit.

 

"The big picture: The NIH mostly funds outside research, but it also often invents basic scientific technologies that are later licensed out and incorporated into drugs that are sold at massive profits. The agency rarely claims ownership stakes or pursues patent rights, but that appears to be different with this coronavirus vaccine."

And what does that have to do with the claim that Fauci is getting kickbacks?

7 minutes ago, placeholder said:

And what does that have to do with the claim that Fauci is getting kickbacks?

Do some research.  

Just now, steelepulse said:

Do some research.  

There's a reason that the mods frown on people who ask others to confirm their claims.

If you aren't prepared to back up a claim, don't make it in the first place. Stop trashifying this thread.

Perhaps he thought he could hit a double and please both DT and his buddy Putin in one shot.

"Apology" doesn't make it, this was a conscious act, not an accident.  This is as accidental as the guy who goes to the hospital because he has a light bulb up his [deleted] and tells them "I don't know how this happened."  The only thing he's sorry about is getting caught, that's the way it is with all these blackguards.

But it's ok with me, I'm waiting for the treason aspect of this regime to go critical mass: one small crack can open the whole sewer pipe.

 

 

Posting false or misleading information will get you suspended.  Continued bickering will have the same outcome.

 

I like some of the people around Trump (Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, Mnuchin) more than Trump himself, but one would only have to watch RT for 5 minutes to know what it is, same with Al Jazeera and the Chinese stations). 

China delenda est.

2 hours ago, pookondee said:

Im not quoting him word for word but he said words to the effect:

This virus will be with us for possibly 5 years and we have to get used to it as there will be others coming that are worse.

 

So daมน why not just put a bullet in our heads now?

No wonder suicides are going up.

 

I just dont see any benefit in putting those kind of views out there and panicking people and having that sหit manifesting in peoples conciousness.

 

But i guess for those who want to live in constant doomsday mode, all power to em.

 

My second comment was an opinion. 

He is in the business of infectious diseases.

If there were none, he'd be out of a job. 

Thats much is undeniable.

 

Its no different to those with high ranking jobs in Pfizer.

If you believe they are all for the betterment of mankind..well...

The choice of controlling and preventing the virus from spreading, increasing deaths and economic destruction are in the hands of individual governments. Countries that took strong and swift action and got their science right have all emerged with good amount of success like China, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, South Korea and so forth. US only got themselves to blame for having a President who has done basically the opposite and still don't have a plan till today. They created their own doomsday.    

Par for the course of this White House hiring ignorant yes men

I guess its possible that's he's stupid enough to not know what RT is about. But I'm surprised that he apologized. His boss 45 could have a bone to pick about that. You know the 45 golden shower rules. Never apologize for anything and never diss Putin.

4 hours ago, Tug said:

Ahhhh yes of course I’d rather base my actions and interactions during a deadly pandemic on science and facts not on some unqualified trump yes man absolutely 100% prefer dr Fauci after all we all know trump hires only the best (major sarcasm alert) the way to solve the problem is follow safe protocols we all know it can’t belive that dude was so obtuse not to know who rt is unbelievable 

Right on ! Who in any sane state of mind would listen to a radiologist over one of the worlds pre-eminent infectious disease experts????

I "apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of". You must be joking! Like Trump being taken advantage of by Twitter when they distribute his garbage.

7 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

Right on ! Who in any sane state of mind would listen to a radiologist over one of the worlds pre-eminent infectious disease experts????

He could have even appoint a dentist as his WH adviser as long as he grovel at his feet.  

1 hour ago, Enzian said:

I like some of the people around Trump (Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, Mnuchin) more than Trump himself, but one would only have to watch RT for 5 minutes to know what it is, same with Al Jazeera and the Chinese stations). 

China delenda est.

I think the english aljazeera is quite good.

3 hours ago, pookondee said:

Im not quoting him word for word but he said words to the effect:

This virus will be with us for possibly 5 years and we have to get used to it as there will be others coming that are worse.

 

So daมน why not just put a bullet in our heads now?

No wonder suicides are going up.

 

I just dont see any benefit in putting those kind of views out there and panicking people and having that sหit manifesting in peoples conciousness.

 

 

He is an expert.

 

But he should keep silent not to destroy your good mood?

 

 

 

He didn't know that RT (Russian Television) was errrrrr.....Russian?

 

Yeah, ok.

5 hours ago, dimitriv said:

 

He is an expert.

 

But he should keep silent not to destroy your good mood?

 

 

 

 

I havent got a good mood about any of it. 

But what Fauci keeps predicting with no evidence at all certainly doesn't help.

 

He reminds me of that Zachary Smith character from "Lost in Space"

running around saying

" We are doomed i tell you..we are all DOOMED"

 

Just for once, It would be nice to hear someone say

"In six months all of this will be over"

 

Even if it was a lie, its better than all this doomsdaying 24×7.

 

But i guess that wouldnt fit into the fear script would it?