Fox News personalities attack Bill Gates for pandemic comments on CNN
Fox News personalities came after Bill Gates on Tuesday for comments he made during a pandemic-focused interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper over the weekend.
“Bars and restaurants in most of the country will be closed as we go into this wave,” Gates said to Tapper during a “State of the Union” segment on December 13. “And I think, sadly, that is appropriate.”
In response to Gates’ comments, Fox News host Charles Payne said: “Here’s the question for Bill Gates. What sacrifice is he making?”
Payne pointed to Gates’ wealth, adding that the billionaire is “still one of the richest people in the world because he actively engages in ways of staying in the top tier of rich people in the world.” The Microsoft co-founder is currently the world’s third-richest person, with a net worth of $130 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Physician and Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel also threw shade at Gates’ CNN interview, saying “that network has on a computer expert to talk about Covid instead of a physician,” he said. Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt said during a “Fox & Friends” segment that “he’s not a health expert.”
But their Fox News colleague has had Gates on as a guest to speak about the same topic. Back in September, Gates was interviewed by Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” and said it was “outrageous” that people weren’t getting their Covid-19 test results back within 24 hours.
CNN anchor Brianna Keilar also spoke about pandemic-induced business closures Wednesday. “During the largest surge of a deadly pandemic, this is the inconvenient truth, even with a flailing economy,” she said on “CNN Newsroom.”
On December 10, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed to giving $250 million to support the “research, development and equitable delivery” of tools to fight Covid-19, including tests, treatments and vaccines. That pledge brings the foundation’s total commitments to the global Covid-19 response to $1.75 billion.