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NEW DRAFT HERE = Donald McNeil Jr. =

Donald McNeil Jr.

Donald Gerard McNeil Jr. (born February 1, 1954) is an American journalist, who spent most of his career at the New York Times, starting in 1976, covering science, most prominently COVID-19.

The Columbia Journalism Review called him one of a small group of science and health reporters who recognized early on the significance of emerging infectious diseases, such as influenza A(H1N1) virus, Zika, Ebola, and HIV/AIDS, and who became one of the "most prominent journalistic voices" on COVID-19. He was praised for his ability to understand complicated science and explain it to the general public, and for telling unpleasant, controversial truths. In a May 2020 TV interview, he warned of the U.S.'s failure to control the COVID-19 epidemic, saying, "it's the President's fault. It is not China's fault," and blamed Trump Administration officials by name, for which he was admonished by the Times for expressing his personal views. After President Donald Trump left office, McNeil interviewed Anthony Fauci about his difficult relationship with Trump.

In 2012, during contract talks between the Times and the Newspaper Guild, he helped lead walkouts by journalists. In 2021, he was asked to leave the Times because of his answers to a high school student's question about the use of racial epithets. (200 words, 1300 characters)

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