People Magazine announced Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci, “the doctor America needed in 2020,” would join actors George Clooney, Regina King and Selena Gomez as the magazine's "2020 People of the Year."
During an extensive interview with the magazine, the top national medical expert noted that in dealing with the emergence of HIV, anthrax attacks, Ebola, Zika and COVID-19, he's learned that "you need to focus very intensively, like a laser, on the job that you have, because there are so many other issues involved that could distract you from what your main goal is."
While Fauci - who sits on the White House Coronavirus Task Force - has served for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, he has continuously been criticized by US President Donald Trump and several others in Trump's administration regarding the federal government's approach to handling the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.
Prior to the 2020 presidential election, attendees at a Trump Opa-Locka, Florida, rally broke out into a "fire Fauci" chant.
"Don't tell anybody but let me wait until a little bit after the election," Trump told the crowd. "He's a nice man, though. He's been wrong on a lot."
Wow -- a "Fire Fauci!" chant at the Trump rally
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 2, 2020
"Let me wait until a little after the election," Trump replies pic.twitter.com/bRHLqzzcRF
Fauci currently retains his post but, according to the infectious disease expert, the level of divisiveness surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the US is worrisome.
“When you have an outbreak, everyone needs to pull together because everyone is in it together. When you have obvious sharp differences, politically and otherwise, that gets in the way of a unified response,” he said during the magazine interview.
“I mean I’ve been doing this for 36 years as director of the institute. I’ve seen disagreements. I’ve seen political issues get in the way over the 36 years," Fauci noting, adding, however, "but I’ve never seen the extent of the divisiveness which leads to hostility against public health measures."
Fauci joins other government officials, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Trump, on the 2020 ballot for Time's "Person of the Year."
Everyday people, including essential workers and firefighters, are also nominated for the coveted title and magazine cover won by climate activist Greta Thunberg in 2019.
Fauci was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during a virtual ceremony hosted by the US Global Leadership Coalition earlier this week.
