‘Not Helpful’: Fauci Calls Out Media for ‘Pitting’ Him Against Trump
Dr. Anthony Fauci slammed the media for spinning a narrative that he was butting heads with President Trump over the country’s coronavirus response, calling it “really unfortunate” and “not helpful” that there are stories “pitting” him against the president.
“I would wish that that would stop, because we have a much bigger problem here than trying to point out differences,” Fauci told WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall on Tuesday. “Really, fundamentally at the core, when you look at things, there are not differences.”
Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases and member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, also praised Trump for his incorporation of advice from the task force into crafting the administration’s response.
“The president has listened to what I have said and to what the other people on the task force have said, when I have made recommendations he has taken them, he’s never countered or overridden me, the idea of just pitting one against the other is just not helpful,” Fauci stated. “I wish that would stop and we’d look ahead at the challenge we have to pull together to get over this thing.”
Multiple outlets reported that Trump was attempting to overrule his health experts by pushing for a back-to-work plan, following a “frank” interview Fauci gave to Science Magazine.
Trump's Monday coronavirus news conference illustrated how he's prioritizing his reelection hopes over advice from public health advisers https://t.co/CgBKLmp3m2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 24, 2020
When asked how he has managed “to not get fired,” Fauci admitted that Trump, “to his credit, even though we disagree on some things, he listens. He goes his own way. He has his own style. But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.”
