There also was the message from the doctors for people to stay home and for states to shut down. At the same time, the former President called for states to open. That message shocked Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Fauci, now President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser and the only one of the doctors still working in the White House, described Trump’s message as “a punch to the chest.”

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, what is going on here?’ It shocked me because it was such a jolt to what we were trying to do,” Fauci told Gupta…

The division became so intense early in the pandemic that by April of last year, Fauci required personal security from law enforcement at all times — including at his home — due to threats to his safety.

“All the doctors received death threats,” Birx told Gupta.

“My daughters got the same rude text messages,” she said. “A lot of sexual references, saying, ‘The country would be better off if you were dead.’ ‘You’re misleading the country.’ ‘Your tongue should be cut out.'”