Stanford University on Monday evening distanced itself from White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the school’s Hoover Institution, after he urged Michigan residents to “rise up” against new public health measures.
“Dr. Atlas has expressed views that are inconsistent with the university’s approach in response to the pandemic.
Dr. Atlas’s statements reflect his personal views, not those of the Hoover Institution or the university. “
Atlas had criticized Michigan’s new Covid-19 restrictions in a tweet shortly after they were announced Sunday evening, writing, “The only way this stops is if people rise up. “
Responding to Atlas’ tweet Sunday evening, Whitmer told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “We know that the White House likes to single us out here in Michigan, me out in particular.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Atlas — who removed a reference to the Hoover Institution in his Twitter handle — said he wasn’t trying to “threaten or incite violence” but rather is just “not very good at Twitter. “
Atlas said the tweet was in response to “literally thousands of emails I get from people all over the country, begging me to figure out how to end the lockdowns,” including from family members of people who have died by suicide amid restrictions.
Unlike the government medical experts who advised President Donald Trump in the early months of the pandemic, Atlas has adopted a public stance on the virus much closer to the President’s — including decrying the idea that schools cannot reopen this fall as “hysteria” and pushing for the resumption of college sports.
