Rand Paul: ‘Dr. Fauci needs to put up or shut up’

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s ongoing mask feud with Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Anthony Fauci continued on Fox News Tuesday.

Paul spoke with host Neil Cavuto to talk about his recent exchanges with Dr. Fauci regarding forcing people to wear face masks after they have received the coronavirus vaccine.

“If the government is going to tell you can’t go anywhere unless you’re wearing a mask, they should tell you why and they should present the evidence,” Paul said.

Paul is asking the government to provide evidence that those who have been infected with the coronavirus or those that have been vaccinated are still transmitting the disease.

Paul went on to describe Fauci’s approach to masks as “emotionalism and fear-mongering.”

“Dr. Fauci needs to put up or shut up,” Paul told Cavuto. “He needs to show us the scientific evidence that it’s a problem after you’ve been vaccinated or after you’ve already got the disease naturally.”

Paul said the choice to wear a mask or not to wear a mask should be left to the individual.

“I’m unequivocally for freedom, for a free society. Each individual would make their own decisions,” he said, adding that those with increased health risks may prefer to continue wearing masks.

Paul explained that if Fauci presented evidence proving that vaccinations or prior infection were not effective against new virus variants, he would reassess his stance on masks.

“But so far all he’s telling me is his opinion,” Paul said. “Really their opinion is, look, they had another one of these vaccine doctors on television, he was like, ‘Oh, it’s about civility.’ Civility is not science. For goodness sakes, show us some evidence to back up these mandates.”

Cavuto asked Paul if he has continued to follow the mask mandate after receiving the vaccination.

“We do what we’re forced to do to live in Dr. Fauci’s world,” Paul said.

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