- President Trump amplified a call to fire Dr. Fauci on Twitter on April 12.
- Despite this, Trump has praised Fauci many times in the past few weeks.
Dr. Fauci is the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and a key player in the Trump Administration's handling of the novelcoronavirus pandemic.- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Narrator: On Sunday, April 12,
Fauci: You could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously no one is gonna deny that.
Narrator: Despite amplifying a call to fire him, which caused the hashtag #FireFauci to trend on Twitter, Trump has praised Fauci on several occasions.
Trump: We have, whether it's Dr. Fauci, we have the best people on earth.We have the most talented people on earth.
Dr. Fauci, Dr. Fauci is great.
No, he's a good man. I like Dr. Fauci a lot, just so you understand.
He was a great basketball player. Did anybody know that? Couple of years ago.
Fauci: A few years ago.
Trump: The head never changes. The attitude never changes.
Because I have great respect for this group. In fact, I told Tony Fauci, I said, "Why don't you move to New York, run against AOC? You will win easily."
Narrator: And at an April 13th press briefing, Trump was asked why he retweeted a call to fire Fauci.
Trump: Today I walk in, I hear I'm gonna fire him. I'm not firing him, I think he's a wonderful guy.
Reporter: Why did you tweet something that said #FireFauci?
Trump: I retweeted somebody, I don't know. They said fire, doesn't matter. I was immediately called upon that and I said, "No, I like him." I think he's terrific.
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