LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Sen. Rand Paul versus Dr. Anthony Fauci is a now-familiar scene on the national stage. Speaking one-on-one with LEX 18's Claire Crouch, the Republican from Kentucky minced no words on what he thinks of the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"If nobody pushes back and lets Dr. Fauci rule the day, I think that's a mistake not to have a live debate over these issues," Paul said.
According to his interpretation of the science, Paul believes vaccines should be used for those who have not been sick with COVID-19, going so far as to call those vaccines used on people who have had the disease a waste. He claims if someone has had COVID-19, they have immunity.
"Fauci is ignoring the science on this," Paul said. "He'll begrudgingly admit that you have immunity, but he's sort of an elitist because he wants one size fits all. Don't think about it, just go get a vaccine."
These opinions certainly have thrust the Kentucky Republican into the spotlight and at times to the detriment of his own safety. In recent weeks, Paul's family received multiple threats including five different phone calls, some of which he says are still under investigation by the FBI.
"People need to understand that in Washington, I talk to Democrats every day, to independents, we do not have cross words, we have dialogue," Paul said. "We've got to get to a point where we can disagree on things without being so angry at each other."
On the topic of Gov. Andy Beshear and the pandemic, Paul believes the governor has acted on pseudo-science and, through his orders, has done a lot to cripple businesses in the state.
"I think Governor Beshear has acted illegally and in an unconstitutional way," Paul said. "The state legislature has come forward and said if he has an emergency edict it expires in 30 days and would have to be approved by the state legislature. This is what the founders of both our state and the country wanted. They wanted checks and balances. They wanted a variety of opinions, not one person's opinion."
Paul said only time will tell if things like booster shots will be necessary to continue fighting the pandemic, but he said he looks forward to a country that is once again making and selling products in a mask-free society.
"I'm optimistic and hopeful for both Kentucky and our country," Paul said. "If you look at the daily numbers of COVID, they're going down dramatically so we are in a really great place right now."
