Fox News host Harris Faulkner appeared non-plussed in the wake of a zinger from liberal strategist Marjorie Clifton. The Democratic guest referenced former Republican President Donald Trump's suggestion last year that people could use disinfectants like bleach in order to stay bodily safe from the virus during the pandemic.
Trump wasn't referring to using bleach to clean the house though.
The exchange, which you can see below, happened during a segment on the channel's The Faulkner Focus in which Faulkner and colleague Guy Benson peppered Clifton with questions about the Center for Disease Control's and Democratic President Joe Biden's supposed mishandling of the pandemic.
During the segment, Faulkner and Benson focused heavily on the CDC's recent announcement that fully vaccinated people can feel free to stop wearing masks in public places.
Faulkner argued the CDC was sending mixed messages, not being sufficiently transparent with the American people about the rules and the organization and the Biden Administration should simply tell the American people "the science" behind pandemic best practices.
But Faulkner's own network has been rife with anti-mask, anti-vaccine, and virus-denial misinformation since the pandemic began. And when it comes to "the science," Fox News, conservative politicians and the Trump Administration have consistently undermined or denied it any time the scientific and medical community have tried to communicate it.
And Clifton, for one, could barely contain her laughter at the absurdity. When Faulkner emphatically opined the Biden Administration should "tell us the truth" with "more facts, less policy," Clifton could take no more.
She shot back:
"Like drinking bleach?"
Faulkner seemed deeply offended by the comment, responding simply, "not funny."
In response, Clifton simply shook her head while Benson claimed the Biden Administration is anti-science.
On Twitter, people cheered Clifton's lack of patience for nonsense.
Interesting to see Fox News now advocate for a science-based approach to the pandemic. Every day is full of surprises.
@ZoeyCatBell
@twinkb23/Bluesky