Skip to main content

Trump says he is on same page with Fauci, is not firing him

WASHINGTON (ITNTV) - President Donald Trump said on Monday he liked leading health expert Anthony Fauci and did not intend to fire him after Fauci said in an interview that earlier mitigation efforts against the coronavirus outbreak could have saved more lives.
At a sometimes contentious briefing with reporters, Trump said he and Fauci had been on the same page “from the beginning” about the virus and played a video for reporters defending his administration’s response.
Trump, who played down the seriousness of the virus in its initial stages, has chafed at media coverage suggesting he did not do enough to prevent its spread.

RELATED COVERAGE

On Sunday, Trump had retweeted a call to fire Fauci after the top U.S. expert on infectious diseases said lives could have been saved if the country had shut down sooner during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
At the briefing on Monday Fauci said he was answering a hypothetical question in the interview and made clear that Trump had listened to him when he recommended mitigation efforts that included strict social distancing measures.
“I think he’s a wonderful guy,” Trump said of Fauci, while adding that not everyone was happy with him.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Republican president in the past has repeated critical tweets of officials or enemies rather than make the criticism himself. The retweet fueled speculation Trump was running out of patience with the popular scientist and could fire him, prompting a White House denial before Trump’s briefing.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump’s retweet addressed what he considered a false report on his travel restriction involving China, where the novel coronavirus originated.
Fauci has assumed national prominence - and a degree of affection - as a leader in the fight against the coronavirus.
He has contradicted or corrected Trump on scientific matters during the public health crisis, including whether the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is effective against the virus.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked on CNN about a New York Times report documenting early warnings issued to the White House about the novel coronavirus. The scientist acknowledged shutting the country down sooner could have saved lives, but cautioned that a number of factors were involved.
“Obviously, it would have been nice if we had a better head start, but I don’t think you could say that we are where we are right now because of one factor,” Fauci said. “It’s very complicated.”
Already a target of the far right for his contradictions of Trump, Fauci drew more opprobrium after the interview.
Trump also denounced the Times story in tweets on Sunday, calling it “Fake.”
FILE PHOTO: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump listens during the coronavirus response daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Last week during the daily White House coronavirus briefing, Trump stepped in and prevented Fauci from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine.
“He won’t fire Fauci today,” tweeted Joe Lockhart, press secretary to former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. “That’s not his style. He needs to humiliate him a while first.”
Fauci, 79, has led the federal infectious disease agency since 1984 under Republican and Democratic presidents. Republican George W. Bush honored him with the presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008.
Some polls during the public health crisis have shown Americans trust him more than Trump.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel to fight coronavirus

Madrid (ITNTV) The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the  ongoing spread of the coronavirus  on the continent. "The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote. The bloc's member states imposed aggressive measures on Monday,  days after the  World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe was at the epicenter of the pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron declared "war" on the virus during a national address on Monday, banning all social events across the country -- including family gatherings. Macron said those who have gathered in public places in recent days have not been respecting previous measures to limit the outbreak's spread in France, which as of Monday had 5,380 con...
Post a Comment
Read more

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany   🇩🇪 . Subjects: Neurobiology / Imaging Description: 1 PhD position in Neurobiology / Imaging Prof. Britta Qualmann, Inst. of Biochem. I, UKJ - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany Prof. Christian Geis, Section of Translat. Neuroimmunol., Dept. Neurol., UKJ We seek for a productive addition to our research team in a collaborative project. We plan to study pathomechanisms of synaptic changes underlying autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system applying super-resolution microscopy. The Geis lab examines immune-mediated changes of synapses by interactions with pathogenic human antibodies against neuronal proteins. Short- and long-term effects on neuronal networks are analyzed using electrophysiological and various microscopy methods. The Qualmann lab is an internationally well-known lab that focusses on proteins with the power to s...
Post a Comment
Read more

80 pct of life stopped in Turkey due to outbreak, says interior minister

Turkish citizens, especially those living in metropolises, have been abiding by the “social isolation” principles laid out by the government, Interior Minister  Süleyman Soylu  has said, adding that almost 80 percent of life “stopped” in  Turkey . “Up until now, just our ministry issued 38 circulars, 17 of which concern the borders. Many high-level precautions have been taken. Right now, 80 percent of life stopped in Turkey,” Soylu said on March 26 in an interview with a private broadcaster. Soylu also provided updated figures for passenger traffic. He said that there is a 73 percent decline in inter-city bus services, adding that these services can also be suspended if needed. On intra-city traffic, Soylu said that there has been an 80 percent decline. This figure was 65 percent according to another interview the minister held on March 25. The government has four cruxes it predicates on when taking measures against the spread of the novel  coronaviru...
Post a Comment
Read more