Dr. Anthony Fauci came under fire today week after he was pictured without a mask on at a baseball game.

Fauci, who threw the first pitch at the game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, was also photographed by AP and USA Today in the audience without a mask.

MMA fighter Jake Shields commented, “Good thing Fauci wears his mask and stays 6 feet apart.” Many others in the conservative sphere quickly jumped on, using any opportunity they can get to slam a man who has dedicated his life to curing diseases.

Good thing Fauci wears his mask and stays 6 feet apart pic.twitter.com/idvVmolylY

— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) July 24, 2020

Others called Fauci a “fraud,” and accused him of making a mockery of the coronavirus pandemic mask recommendations.

It’s all scam! The guy who made the guidelines doesnt follow them! No social distancing, no mask! You have been scammed! Fauci is a fraud! pic.twitter.com/e4K1Lq0U4X

— NetworkinVegas.com (@Networkinvegas) July 24, 2020

Every time #Fauci is off camera, he removes his mask and appears to take a deep breath, clearly indicating he was struggling to breathe with it on.

I did an online poll with many thousands of responses and 85% said masks made it harder to breathe.

— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) July 24, 2020

At least we know he really believes mask-wearing is important! https://t.co/l47MEDhOcH

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 24, 2020

When he thinks the cameras are off, Fauci makes a mockery of his "social distancing" recommendations and proceeds to brush off his own mask advocacy.

"Do as I say, not as I do"
h/t @Ronald_Spitzer pic.twitter.com/zeBHLjlZST

— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) July 24, 2020

Masks don't work. Dr. Fauci said this and his conduct seems to confirm he still understands that there is no science that masks work to contain #coronavirus. https://t.co/4Zz6JOVOy3

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) July 24, 2020

Some people defended Fauci, however, claiming he was with family members and that he was drinking water.

Do we know who is with him? If these are family members, for example, he's outdoors and socially distanced, so he doesn't need a mask.
And he may have had a test that was negative. https://t.co/hQy0bYntyQ

— Debra J. Saunders (@debrajsaunders) July 24, 2020

On Friday, Fauci criticized young people who haven’t been wearing masks, declaring, “You don’t realize, probably innocently, that you are inadvertently propagating the outbreak… You are becoming part of the problem because, even if you get infected without any symptoms, it is likely that you are going to infect someone else.”

In an interview with Fox News, Fauci called the criticism “mischievous” and explained he was sitting with his wife and a friend, and removed his mask to take a drink of water.

Reacting to online criticism over photos of him with his mask briefly off at Nats game, Fauci tells Fox News he was sitting with his wife and a close friend and was drinking water.

“If people want to make something about that they can, but to me, I think that is mischievous.” pic.twitter.com/B7tC4B13T7

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 24, 2020

Dr. Fauci has now addressed this photo that appeared in the AP and Washington Post. His comments, made on Fox News, are in the screenshot on the right.

Fauci says he tested negative the day before and that he was with a close friend and drinking water. pic.twitter.com/iB6vCN9wHH

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 24, 2020