Putting the best construction on it, I suspect it wasn’t a lie but rather a misguided attempt to distinguish between his PhD and his medical degree. As in, he is a doctor of medicine and a doctor of epidemiology. One might say “physician and doctor” or something.
But people took umbrage with the use of “physician,” which implies actual practice and licensure, so he stopped using it.
Calling it “lying” adds a level of dishonesty that I’m not sure is warranted. But that’s just me, you do you.
Putting the best construction on it, I suspect it wasn’t a lie but rather a misguided attempt to distinguish between his PhD and his medical degree. As in, he is a doctor of medicine and a doctor of epidemiology. One might say “physician and doctor” or something.
But people took umbrage with the use of “physician,” which implies actual practice and licensure, so he stopped using it.
Calling it “lying” adds a level of dishonesty that I’m not sure is warranted. But that’s just me, you do you.