Dr. Anthony Fauci on Thursday gave a dignified response to attacks from the right that have left him requiring security protection for his own safety.

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan played Fauci footage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) telling supporters last year that “someone needs to grab that little elf and chuck him across the Potomac.”

Hasan asked Fauci if he considered DeSantis’ comment a threat and suggested the 2024 Republican presidential candidate had incited violence.

Fauci acknowledged he’d become a symbol of hate for the far-right after he publicly disagreed with then-President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the decadeslong director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci drew blowback from conservatives for recommending masking, social distancing and lockdowns during the public health crisis which claimed the lives of more than 1.1 million Americans.

“DeSantis doesn’t personally want to hurt me but he’s triggering people who are bad and really want to hurt people, that’s the problem,” said Fauci.

Watch the video here:

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