On Sunday, Donald Trump sat for an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, where he said that he has a good relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the world’s preeminent virologist and member of the COVID-19 task force, but that’s he’s “little bit of an alarmist.”
Of course, in that same interview, Trump said his predictions about the coronavirus disappearing like magic will come true “eventually,” that the U.S. has the world’s lowest death rate (it doesn’t), and that his administration has done a great job handling the virus although more than 140,000 Americans have died. None of those things are true, and the irony of a man who once warned of an invasion by migrant caravans calling anyone an “alarmist” is quite comical.
Dr. Fauci responds to President Trump: "I consider myself a realist, as opposed to an alarmist".
The president called the infectious disease expert “a little bit of an alarmist” in a recent interview. https://t.co/A9brr0GHFO
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 21, 2020
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Fauci pushed back against that insult. He told the president who failed to act on this virus for more than 30 days, who wants to slow testing down before the 2020 election so badly he swears not to sign a stimulus bill unless fundings for testing is included, and has repeatedly said the virus would “disappear, like magic” that he’s not an alarmist. He’s simply a realist. Not to mention, he’s a doctor who doesn’t speak based on political convenance.
According to NBC News:
‘Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday evening rejected President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of him of being “an alarmist,” saying he considered himself “a realist” but also “an optimist.”
‘Asked if Trump’s characterization was unfair, Fauci, in an interview on Instagram Live with Maria Shriver, said, “I believe so, but then again, others have different opinions.”’
President Trump called Dr. Anthony Fauci "a little bit of an alarmist" on Sunday as the coronavirus pandemic worsens and the nation's top infectious disease expert urges elected officials to implement more health safety measures. https://t.co/ESLoAVsz8D
— CNN (@CNN) July 19, 2020
Trump told Wallace on Sunday that, despite reports of tensions between his administration and Dr. Fauci, that they have a great relationship. Meanwhile, members of the Trump administration are providing information to reporters about opposition research they’ve done on the world’s most preeminent virologist because his accurate predictions have made the president look bad.
Trump told Wallace:
‘Dr. Fauci’s made some mistakes, but I have a very good — I spoke to him yesterday at length — I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. He’s a little bit of an alarmist — that’s OK.’
BREAKING: Chris Wallace asked Donald Trump about the American death count (145,000) as a result of COVID-19, to which he responded: "It is what it is." What other evidence do you need to conclude he is fundamentally unfit for office?
— A Worried Citizen (@ThePubliusUSA) July 19, 2020
Trump also said in the same interview where he claimed that he and Fauci have a great relationship that Fauci has been wrong several times, because the man who told Americans to inject themselves with disinfectant has made no mistakes during this pandemic. Trump counts on his supporters’ beliefs in conspiracy theories and their rejection of science to push this narrative, never admitting that science is a fluid, not fixed, field of study that changes and adjusts with new data.
‘Fauci early in the pandemic had asked the public not to go out and buy the N95 masks because they were needed by health professionals. He has now strongly advocated for people to wear some type of face coverage, and last week urged governors and mayors to “be as forceful as possible” to get people to wear face coverings.’
The hard truth is that it didn’t have to be this bad, but Donald Trump ignored the experts and refused to take action. He has failed our nation. pic.twitter.com/WAhigUtsxz
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 19, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
