Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty
US president Donald Trump looks on as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health Anthony Fauci (middle) speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on February 26, 2020.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci has become a household name during the coronavirus outbreak, frequently appearing on TV as a trusted disease expert.
- Often tasked with setting the record straight on facts misconstrued or misrepresented by President Donald Trump, Fauci has been left in awkward positions at the White House briefing lecturn.
- According to a New York Times report, "Mr. Trump has become frustrated with Dr. Fauci 's blunt approach at the briefing lectern, which often contradicts things the president has just said, according to two people familiar with the dynamic."
- Fauci also made headlines on Sunday in an interview with Science Magazine, saying, "I can't jump in front of the microphone and push [Trump] down."
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Dr. Anthony Fauci and his tendency to set the scientific record straight has become a source of aggravation for President Donald Trump, according to a New York Times report.
Fauci, who has grown from his role as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health into a household name during the coronavirus outbreak, has had to toe the line next to Trump during briefings.
While the doctor has normally kept his poker face, he facepalmed during a briefing last week and made headlines Sunday night in an interview with Science Magazine.
When asked by Science Magazine how he has managed not to get fired yet, Fauci said, "Well, that's pretty interesting because to his [President Trump's] 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."
However, The Times reported Monday that "Mr. Trump has become frustrated with Dr. Fauci 's blunt approach at the briefing lectern, which often contradicts things the president has just said, according to two people familiar with the dynamic."
Fauci 's credibility has earned him some more slack with Trump, according to The Times, but his rendition of the facts behind COVID-19 - the disease caused by the coronavirus - remain more dire than the rosy picture Trump keeps trying to paint.
Even Fauci himself acknowledged a limit to his role in the Science Magazine interview.
"I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down," Fauci said of Trump's misstatements on the coronavirus. "OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time."