Is Dr. Anthony Fauci a real doctor? His credentials and experience, explained

Dr. Anthony Fauci is back in MAGA’s crosshairs following an exhausting rehashing of the government’s response to COVID-19 in a recent House subcommittee hearing.

Fauci provided his expert opinion and hands-on experience in response to a variety of questions, and even did his best to address petulant accusations from the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene. Fauci’s name has been dragged through the mud for a good four years now, as selfish people who think science is a dirty word accost him for his efforts to slow the spread of a deadly virus.

During the pandemic, Fauci was at the head of the pack attempting to assert every method possible to protect people from COVID-19. A few of the measures he backed include masking (something proven to slow the spread of numerous viruses), social distancing (a practice that’s been in use since the 1918 Spanish Flu), and travel restrictions (which aided in keeping the virus as contained as possible.)

Each of these decisions came under fire in the early June COVID hearing, and even Fauci’s credentials ended up a target. The man has an impressive resume backing him, but is he really a doctor, or is Marjorie Taylor Greene correct in refusing to refer to him as such?

Is Anthony Fauci a real doctor?

If you really have doubts about Dr. Fauci’s credentials, look no further than the seasoned scientist’s dedicated page on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) website. There, he’s listed among the institute’s “previous directors,” and a thorough biography outlines the many accomplishments that landed Fauci in his longstanding position.

First and foremost, however, was the medical school training that earned Fauci his medical degree. Fauci attended Cornell University’s Medical College and, when he graduated with his M.D. in 1966, he did so ranked first in his class. He went on to enjoy his internship and residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center before becoming a clinical associate at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That blossomed into a career with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an institute he went on to lead for nearly 40 years.

Fauci became the director of the NIAID in 1984, and over the years was offered a position at the head of the entire NIH on several occasions, but refused every time. He was quite content to head the NIAID, which he did with flawless skill from 1984 to 2022. He was rarely on the receiving end of criticism from politicians or the American public as he worked to combat diseases like SARS, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, the Swine Flu, and MERS. But when COVID reared his head, he suddenly became public enemy number one for a lineup of far-right figures.

Figures like Greene, who refuses to refer to Fauci by his honorific despite the decades of work he’s dedicated to keeping this country healthy and as close to disease-free as possible. Those same people ignored the impressive tenure that qualified Fauci to lead COVID efforts, and instead fixated on their own personal feelings about social distancing and mask wearing. As a result, the long-respected member of the NIH stepped down from his position in 2022, and now faces exhaustive questioning from his critics, and perhaps the biggest idiots our country can muster up.