Reeher Quoted in The Hill Article on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Departure

September 12, 2022

The Hill

Grant Reeher

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

COVID-19

Federal

Political Parties

United States

The Hill

Grant Reeher

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert who became a household name, and the subject of partisan attacks, during the COVID-19 pandemic, recently announced he will depart the federal government in December after more than five decades of service.

Experts are worried the toxic atmosphere that surrounded him will hang around for years to come.

“It is one of the best exhibits of just how deep this polarization is, because you take someone who would not normally be viewed through a political lens, and instead that seems to be almost the only way he is viewed,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

“He is a folk hero among Democrats and a milder version of Satan among Republicans," he says.