White House press secretary disputes poll that show Americans trust Dr. Fauci much more than Trump
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The White House press secretary disputed recent polling that found Americans trust Dr. Anthony Fauci significantly more than they trust the president to provide accurate information about the coronavirus.
"I believe that the American people have a lot more trust in the president than that poll indicates," McEnany told CBS News. "I believe the American people have great confidence in this president's leadership."
An Insider poll conducted in late April similarly found that significantly more Americans trust Fauci than trust Trump when it comes to the pandemic response.
Trump publicly criticized Fauci's more cautious position on reopening schools on Wednesday, and McEnany said Fauci is just "one among many" experts Trump is listening to.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Thursday disputed recent polling that found Americans trust Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, significantly more than they trust President Donald Trump to provide accurate information about the coronavirus.
During a CBS News interview, McEnany was asked to comment on the network's new poll showing that 62% of Americans trust Fauci, while just 38% trust the president.
"I believe that the American people have a lot more trust in the president than that poll indicates," McEnany told CBS News. "I believe the American people have great confidence in this president's leadership."
An Insider poll conducted late last month found that 64% of Americans trusted Fauci, while just 19% trusted Trump to effectively handle the pandemic.
On Wednesday evening, Trump said he "totally disagrees" with Fauci on the risk posed by the coronavirus to children and how that affects schools reopening this fall.
While Fauci recently warned that officials shouldn't be "cavalier" about the danger the virus poses to children and that schools should not reopen too quickly, Trump insisted on Thursday that kids should return to school in the fall even without a widely available therapeutic drug or vaccine.
"I was surprised by his answer actually because to me, it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools," the president told reporters on Wednesday.
During a Tuesday Senate hearing, Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, challenged Fauci's position on school reopenings and insisted that Fauci shouldn't be the "end-all" when it comes to the government's pandemic response.
Fauci responded that he's "never made myself out to be the end-all and only voice of this" and that he gives advice on public health, not the economy.
McEnany echoed Paul's view on Thursday, arguing that the president is listening to a host of experts and others, but said Trump still has confidence in Fauci.
"There's a lot of voices and, as Dr. Fauci noted, he is one among many," she said.
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