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Editor's Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN correspondent and producer, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent contributor to CNN opinion, a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, and a columnist for the World Politics Review. Follow her on Twitter @fridaghitis. The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author. Read more opinion at CNNe.com/opinion
(CNN) - Life in a pandemic is full of ethical and moral dilemmas for everyone. We have to weigh the cost to ourselves and to others of decisions that hardly deserved a second thought in life before the pandemic. But few people have had to fight with their conscience in full view of the world as leading government scientists do these days.
Standing on the White House podium alongside his boss, President Donald Trump, now-familiar figures like Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and others, face ethical difficulties that can cause doctors, philosophers, and theologians. debate for years to come.
Government scientists have to decide how to preserve their integrity while working for a president who tells lies; they have to maintain their dignity while working for a president who demands unwarranted praise; and they have to keep their jobs without becoming complicit in a president whose reckless advice can lead to further loss of life.
What should these scientists do when Trump tells tens of millions of Americans to do something they know will hurt them? Should they correct him right away, risking his anger and perhaps ending his careers? Or should they keep quiet and hope that they can find another time to correct it, figuring that staying in Trump's good graces will allow them to do their job, perhaps saving even more lives than they might lose by allowing the bizarre presidential council to leak in. community?
For now, Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, and Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease specialist, have chosen the latter. But it is not entirely clear that they, particularly Birx, have successfully threaded the needle.
LOOK: Dr. Deborah Birx: the look that went viral with Trump and the disinfectant against covid-19
Fauci has been more willing to openly correct the president, sometimes even wishing he had done so more quickly. "I can't jump in front of the microphone and push it down," he explained in an interview with Science magazine. Now he needs special security to protect him from some of Trump's most passionate advocates.
Birx has visibly struggled with his near-impossible dilemma.
We saw her during and after that immortal briefing on Thursday, when she sat against the wall of the meeting room, as Trump suggested that the disinfectant, the "injection inside" or perhaps UV light in the body could cure to covid-19. Close-up of his reaction, moving in his seat; Tightening his facial muscles and staring at the ground, he went viral (in the old sense of the word before the coronavirus).
Now rumored to be in the race to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Birx has become something of a Trump whisperer. But at what price?
In addition to a respected scientist, she is also a diplomat, and diplomacy often requires clenched teeth. Birx on Sunday defended Trump's irresponsible televised reflections that ingesting disinfectant could kill the virus. Trump's words prompted urgent warnings from the manufacturers of Lysol and Clorox not to drink or inject their product, it also caused laughter in much of the world, an embarrassing moment for the United States.
More importantly, it led many people to take the President seriously. Who knows how many desperate relatives of the sick thought that maybe Trump found his magic shot, desperately wanted. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said hundreds of people in his state called to ask about injecting or taking disinfectants.
Amid the uproar, Trump claimed, in a transparent lie, that he was being sarcastic when he mentioned it. His new press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, blamed the media for taking it out of context.
Birx offered a third defense, telling CNN's Jake Tapper that Trump was having "a dialogue" on the matter, as if it had been a perfectly normal discussion, adding that Trump "understood" when she told him it was not a treatment. In fact, it is doubtful that Trump understood, because he persevered: “I think it is a great thing to look at. I mean, you know. It's okay"
Birx has done an excellent job in the United States-led global campaign against HIV / AIDS. Making her the key person in the pandemic is one of the administration's best moves. But his efforts to please Trump have reduced his dignity and credibility.
It was excruciating to watch clips of his disturbing interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network last month, after the president had spent weeks downplaying the pandemic and ignoring experts. Birx enthusiastically said that Trump "has been so attentive to the scientific literature," praising Trump's ability to "analyze and integrate data."
By then, Trump was busy proving the exact opposite, promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as "very, very promising," even when Fauci tried to warn him. Research now indicates that following Trump's prescription, as tens of thousands apparently did, can lead to potentially fatal heart problems.
Birx surely knew that what he was saying to CBN was false. Perhaps he was calculating that this was the price he had to pay to earn the trust of a president for whom no coin is more valuable than lavish praise. Perhaps Birx decided that he would give up a bit of his integrity to secure a position that would allow him to lead the country's coronavirus battle and ultimately save lives.
If so, he sold a piece of his soul to do it. Was the transaction ethically justified? Was it morally correct?
Those are questions that do not have a conclusive answer.
Birx has a habit of nodding, presumably with approval, when the President speaks. Some people have told me that they find it indefensible. They wonder if Birx is a 'trumpista', a true believer. None of us knows what is in his heart, apart from what his story tells us. It has a distinguished and honorable record of fighting disease worldwide. Regardless of the commitments you have now, we must respect that he has followed his call throughout his professional life.
Their latest challenge is immense, not only because the coronavirus is a tough enemy, but because fighting it in the shadow of a pernicious and selfish boss creates new heartbreaking moral dilemmas.
If you get the best job in Health and Human Services, let's hope you build your courage and call the President quickly when needed. She owes it to the American people.
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