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‘I Screwed Up’: Former CNN Host Admits He Was Wrong About Fauci

Charlie Kirk Staff

01/30/2025

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‘I Screwed Up’: Former CNN Host Admits He Was Wrong About Fauci

Chris Cillizza, former CNN editor-at-large, recently admitted to making serious misjudgments in his assessment of Anthony Fauci’s credibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a series of tweets this week, Cillizza acknowledged that he was wrong to dismiss conservative voices—including President Donald Trump—who questioned Fauci’s narrative.

Reflecting on his past coverage, Cillizza conceded that his biases against Trump and his unquestioning trust in Fauci’s expertise led him to overlook alternative perspectives, particularly regarding the origins of COVID-19.

“If this was a debate between Donald Trump and Anthony Fauci on the origins of a pandemic-level virus, I was going to go with the guy who spent his entire career studying this stuff, not the reality TV-star-turned-president,” Cillizza wrote.

As mounting evidence has strengthened the lab-leak theory—a hypothesis that President Trump and many conservatives supported early on—Cillizza admitted that he did not maintain a healthy skepticism toward official narratives.

“The lesson: Be skeptical — of experts or anyone else — when dealing with a rapidly developing and changing situation where no one has the ability to see a 360-degree view,” he added. 

Cillizza’s mea culpa comes at a time when public trust in health officials has sharply declined, fueled by shifting guidance, controversies over lockdown policies, and the politicization of COVID-19’s origins.

Once seen as a leading authority during the crisis, Fauci has become a deeply polarizing figure—hailed by some as a steady leader but criticized by many for inconsistencies, missteps, and ever-changing narratives.

Cillizza didn’t hold back in his self-criticism, noting that his personal distrust of Trump clouded his judgment. “My belief at the time was that Trump was just making it up. Like, he wanted to blame China for the virus. And it having leaked from an infectious disease lab — whether accidentally or intentionally — made that case much easier to make,” he admitted.

https://twitter.com/ChrisCillizza/status/1884054517874057655

“Do I think that’s what happened?” he asked. “That Trump knew — like, really knew — way back then that Covid had come from a lab? Or was he just saying stuff — and that stuff wound up being proven correct in the long run? Honestly, I am not sure we will ever know.”

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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.

Charlie is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, which regularly ranks among the top-10 news shows on Apple podcast news charts, and is the host of the nationally syndicated daily radio show on the Salem Radio Network live from 12 - 3 PM ET.
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