Dr. Birx has jumped the shark

When you watch Dr. Anthony Fauci during these press briefings, you can see why he’s survived as a scientist under six Presidents, half of whom have been anti-science. He may have also had a past life as a juggler, considering his penchant for refuting Donald Trump’s lies, while Trump is standing next to him, in such a way that Trump doesn’t realize it’s happening.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Dr. Deborah Birx. It’s clear that she’s intelligent and good at what she does. Before Trump came along, she surely had a very honorable career in public service. But, perhaps because she’s not as good of a juggler, she’s ended up crossing the line too many times by defending Trump’s lies.

Dr. Birx had an opportunity this week to lay out the scientific argument against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen places like hair salons and tattoo parlors. Instead she said that these businesses should simply observe social distancing, as if such a thing were possible in these lines of work. She was apparently afraid to step on Kemp’s toes, because he’s a personal favorite of Trump. Her wimpy answer could end up costing lives in Georgia.

It’s worth noting that the next day, Donald Trump did suddenly announce that he was personally opposed to Kemp’s moves. Someone clearly got to Trump behind the scenes. So in Dr. Birx’s potential defense, it’s possible that she’s the one who cornered him on this and got him to change his mind. But we don’t know if this is the case. All we know is the Dr. Birx is resorting to giving dangerously bad answers on stage, so she can keep appearing on stage. It’s not okay.