You know this will be an unusual interview, even for Instagram, when the host brings an enormous glass of wine to his lips and toasts his guest.
“Let’s get into it,” Peter Staley says, and in the other chatbox, Dr. Anthony Fauci laughs. The smile on the face of the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is startling. It’s a sight we have rarely seen in these grim times.
Staley, an icon of AIDS activism (and one of the primary subjects of the Oscar-nominated documentary, How to Survive a Plague), must have done some awfully persuasive cajoling to convince his one-time nemesis during the AIDS crisis to chat with him in such an unguarded way.
The result is a fascinating glimpse into the heart and mind of Fauci, and certainly, a more personal one than we are accustomed to by his cautious public appearances.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Yes, the veteran public health official still choose his words carefully, but not, perhaps, quite as carefully as usual. In the decades since the two men battled for turf in the early, murderous years of AIDS, they have forged a close relationship.
“Say hi to Stella for me,” Fauci begins, referring to Staley’s dog, which Staley brought along for a recent socially-distanced dinner with Fauci. From there, the conversation is animated and even dishy.
“I”m not a journalist,” Staley points out, “I’m just an activist who kind of adores you. You and I tangled for years. I got arrested in front of your building,” referring to ACT UP’s protests and NIAID and at other government buildings. “It developed over time into a good friendship.”
More than once, Staley and Fauci refer to conversations they have held privately, and the viewer gets the impression that more has been said, much more, over mutual glasses of wine, than they are revealing here. Reading between those lines is half the fun of watching their conversation.
Staley and Fauci veer among disparate topics, from Fauci’s physical exhaustion to the “geeked out science” of droplets, viral particles, and the dangers of the coming winter.
Along the way, Fauci has a sort of withering non-praise for people like Scott Atlas, the monumentally unqualified neuro -radiologist who currently has the ear of Trump, and nothing but praise for the beleaguered Dr. Deborah Birx, whom Fauci commends for her tireless public health guidance, zigzagging the country to share life-saving information.
The disaster of the Trump presidency and his deadly response to the epidemic has become such a given that the two men barely glance in his direction, except when Fauci tries to explain how he navigates the ever-changing priorities of the White House.
The public health official is at his least convincing, sadly, when he makes the case for his continued role on the White House task force and its relative power to persuade the president.
“We are still here doing our thing,” Fauci says, weakly.
There is so much information about science in the conversation, and any viewer will leave it much better informed. Included are discussions of airflow (and the importance of having windows stay open as the colder weather drives us indoors), herd immunity, the battles over the soul of the CDC, shame-driven prevention messaging, and even which spoken languages tend to produce more risky droplets in the air (here’s looking at you, Germany).
As the conversation closes, Staley asks a deceptively simple question of his friend. Has the official ever been in this situation (sidelined and muffled, that is), during all his career serving so many presidents?
“No,” Fauci responds, and for the first time in their friendly chat, he bears the look of sad resignation. “This is a unique situation.”
The two friends then bid goodbye, and Staley reaches for his wine.
Queerty contributor Mark S. King won the 2020 GLAAD Award for his blog, My Fabulous Disease
Discover more
wikidBSTN
A lot of young LGBTQ people today probably don’t realize what Dr. Fauci means to the gay community. In the 1980’s as AIDS became a crisis, Fauci was really one of the first national public health figures in the world to stand up and fight for us. He reminded the public that we were people first (believe it or not, back then some people didn’t think that way) and society and government in particular had a moral obligation to render help and care to our community. Despite some feuds about methods and strategies, I think any ol’ timey AIDS activist will tell you that Fauci really cared and put his heart and soul into the fight.
Hdtex
These two are national treasures and heros. Both responsible for saving literally hundreds of thousands of lives.
ScottOnEarth
Don’t most of us have a crush on Dr. Fauci?…a smart, confident, caring, honest man who stands up to the national disaster in the White House and keeps telling the truth.