Fauci’s DC neighbors put up ‘thank you’ signs in their yards

Anthony Fauci’s neighbors in Washington, D.C., put up “thank you” signs in their yards as the public health official continues to catch flak from conservatives over his public remarks during the pandemic.

Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told The Washington Post that for a long time he was “a quiet, inconspicuous person in my neighborhood, and now there are signs up telling me that they love me.”

“I think it’s great, but I certainly don’t let anything like that go to my head,” he added.

As Fauci battles the pandemic and politics, his grateful neighbors celebrate him as a hero https://t.co/kmtoLBuQJu

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 7, 2020

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has lived in the District since 1975. The signs were organized by Ida Bergstrom, a physician who during her residency spent a month working for Fauci, according to the Post. 

The gesture comes as Fauci has faced pushback from President Trump and his allies. Trump has publicly undermined Fauci and retweeted multiple messages that question his expertise, including one last week that said Fauci had “misled the American public.”

Fauci told CNN’s Sanjay Gupta on Wednesday that he and his family have received threats and harassment in recent weeks. Fauci, 79, has had a security detail since at least April.

“Getting death threats for me and my family and harassing my daughters to the point where I have to get security is just, I mean, it’s amazing,” Fauci said.