CNN anchor Chris Cuomo went off Monday night and raged against
Trump health adviser Dr. Scott Atlas, who
urged Michiganders to “rise up” against their governor’s
COVID-19 recommendations.
What are the details?
Atlas, a neuroradiologist, made the remarks about Americans
rising up against Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s
COVID-19 mitigation measures.
On Twitter, Atlas addressed Whitmer’s newest COVID-19
restrictions — which were announced Sunday — writing,
“The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you
accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp.”
The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you
accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp https://t.co/8QKBszgKTM— Scott W. Atlas (@Scott W. Atlas)1605483669.0
How did Cuomo react?
During Monday night’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” the show host railed,
“Are you kidding me? Shame on you! What kind of doctor would tell
people to rise up and resist the only kind of prophylaxis that can
help them? What the hell is the matter with this person? Rise up?
You rise up and do your job or get the hell out! How could you give
this kind of advice?”
Cuomo wasn’t done there: He went on to blast Atlas for what he
says is a lack of experience with infectious diseases and said that
it was wrong that he suggested family members continue to gather
together for Thanksgiving despite the ongoing pandemic crisis.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he continued. “Yeah, it
could be their last Thanksgiving if you expose them to people who
aren’t wearing masks, who aren’t socially distancing and haven’t
been doing so and haven’t gotten tested because they somehow think
they don’t want to get in on the ‘con’ of COVID.”
In October, Dr. Anthony Fauci shared his own thoughts about
Atlas.
“I have real problems with that guy,” Fauci said during an
interview with
the Washington Post, “talking about things that I believe he
doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in.”
Chris Cuomo slams Dr. Scott Atlas for telling people to “fight
back” against COVID restrictions www.youtube.com
Anything else?
Shortly after his initial tweet, Atlas wrote,
“Hey. I NEVER was talking at all about violence. People vote,
people peacefully protest. NEVER would I endorse or incite
violence. NEVER!!”
Hey. I NEVER was talking at all about violence. People vote,
people peacefully protest. NEVER would I endorse or in…
https://t.co/YwZgA7qhrk— Scott W. Atlas (@Scott W. Atlas)1605495737.0
Atlas also told
Fox News he never meant to cause any confusion with his
remarks.
“If you want to change things, you have to have your voices
heard,” he told the network’s Martha MacCallum. “What I meant was
in response to the literally thousands of emails I get from people
all over the country begging me to figure out how to end the
lockdowns.”
“I get emails, I would say, you know, every couple of weeks from
someone who has had a family member commit suicide because of the
lockdowns,” he continued. “I have people begging me to do anything
I can to end the lockdowns. And so what I meant — and I’m sorry,
I’m not very articulate on Twitter — is basically if you want to
change things, you have to have your voices heard. I didn’t mean
anything more than that. I think that’s obvious in the United
States. I didn’t mean to threaten or incite violence.”
