Fauci
Anthony Fauci

As the light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel shines a bit brighter each day, Anthony Fauci, America’s indispensable man during the pandemic, should begin to think of a new career: PR crisis counselor.

It’s a job that would be far less taxing for the 81-year-old than his current gig as Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor on COVID-19.

As PR counselor, Fauci would not be hauled in before Congress to deal with attacks from nitwits such as the Kentucky/Kansas Republican duo: Rand Paul and Roger Marshall.

Paul’s repeated attacks on Fauci (e.g, part of a conspiracy that led to the creation of COVID-19 in a Chinese lab) has triggered death threats against the good doctor.

A man traveling to DC with an AR-15 rifle and multiple magazines of ammunition was arrested in Iowa in December. He had a “hit list” with Fauci’s name on it.

When Fauci accused Paul of riling up “the crazies,” the Senator said he was disappointed that the doctor suggested “that people who dare to question you are responsible for violent threats.” Did you hear about the AR-15, Rand?

The Kentuckian, meanwhile, is raising money via a campaign with a “Fire Dr. Fauci theme. He accepts donations of $5, $10, $20 and $100.

Marshall has accused Fauci of ginning up fear of COVID to a craven bid to line his own pockets.

On Jan. 11, he demanded that Fauci make full disclosure of his compensation, though he has done so for each of his 37 years in government service.

Marshall held up an oversized check as a prop. It showed that Fauci was paid $434K during 2020, which was Trump’s last year in office.

The Kansas City Star noted that Paul and Marshall are trying much harder to fire up the noise machine “to make voters angry about modest and necessary efforts to fight the pandemic than they are to convince them to end it.”

The paper noted that “every Kansan who refuses a vaccine or forgoes a mask in a crowded public space just increases the number of people getting sick and dying.” That's on you, Rand and Marshall.

Did Fauci really think he was off mic when he called Marshall “a moron”? Probably not.

He certainly knew that he was on mic when he said Paul’s fundraising off COVID is using a catastrophic epidemic for political gain.

Backlash against ESG. Unilever, a leader in corporate sustainability, is under attack by one of its top stockholders for putting climate and social responsibility ahead of dollars and cents.

Terry Smith, founder of Fundsmith, a top 10 stockholder in Unilever, wrote in his firm's annual report:

“A company which feels it has to define the purpose of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has in our view clearly lost the plot. The Hellmann’s brand has existed since 1913 so we would guess that by now consumers have figured out its purpose (spoiler alert–salads and sandwiches)."

Despite Smith’s attack on Unilever, his firm is maintaining its holdings in the company because “its strong brands and distribution will triumph in the end."

Unleash the hounds… Rich Azzopardi, who was Gov. Andrew Cuomo's long-time spokesperson, launched Bulldog Strategies on Jan. 10.

“I’ve never shied away from the tough challenges as few battles worth waging are easy,” he said in announcing the firm. “Experience and expertise matter and if you hire Bulldog Strategies, you get a battle-tested, and relentless advocate who will fight tooth and nail for you.”

Azzopardi’s firm may be in it until the bitter end but he could not convince his No. 1 client to fight for his job as leader of the Empire State.