Dr. Fauci says Dr. Birx was in 'tough situation' at Trump White House: 'Cut her some slack'

Dr. Anthony Fauci came to the defense of Dr. Deborah Birx on Cuomo Prime Time Wednesday. Birx has come under fire recently for comments she made in an interview for an upcoming CNN documentary, in which she shared her opinion that hundreds of thousands of American lives could have been saved had the Trump administration handled the coronavirus pandemic differently. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator under the Trump administration, had come to Trump’s defense on multiple occasions, albeit sometimes looking uncomfortable doing so. Birx is catching heat for not speaking up sooner, but Fauci explained that she was in a difficult spot to navigate..

“She was in a tough situation,” Fauci said. “You really need to understand, she was living in the White House. She had an office in the lower level of the west wing. And I guess, obviously, you say she could have done more, but it was really tough on her. She was a military person. She understands the chain of command. And I think if you ask her now, she probably would say she should have done more, but you really need to cut her some slack, the way I do. You really have to, because she was in a tough situation.”

Video Transcript

[WHOOSH]

ANTHONY FAUCI: Chris, she was in a tough situation. You really need to understand. She was living in the White House.

She had an office in the lower level of The West Wing. And I guess, obviously, you say she could have done more. But it was really tough on her.

KYLIE MAR: Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on Cuomo Prime Time Wednesday, where he came to the defense of Dr. Deborah Birx, who said in a recent interview with CNN that hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved had the Trump administration handled the pandemic differently. Birx, who was the White House coronavirus response coordinator under Trump, has come under fire for not speaking up sooner.

ANTHONY FAUCI: She was a military person. She understands the chain of command. And I think if you ask her now, she probably would of said she should have done more. But you really need to cut her some slack the way I do. You really have to because she was in a tough situation.

KYLIE MAR: Asked if there was more he could have done, Fauci reminded Cuomo that he contradicted Trump's inaccuracies on many occasions throughout the pandemic, causing a lot of tension.

ANTHONY FAUCI: And I certainly clashed with the president. You know that. We had a considerable amount of stress and tension between us. There were a lot of things that we did that was contradictory to him, which obviously caused a lot of stress and strain. But I just want to put that behind us and look ahead.