Fauci said he was 'absolutely not' surprised Trump caught the coronavirus after shunning social distancing and masks

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious-disease expert, said he was "absolutely not" surprised that President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19 in September.
• Fauci said he worried when he saw Trump mingling with guests with no masks at a White House ceremony that Fauci has since labeled a "superspreader" event.
• "I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask," Fauci told "60 Minutes."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious-disease expert, said he was "absolutely not" surprised that President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19 after seeing him surrounded by crowds of people who were not wearing masks.

In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday, Fauci said: "I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask."

Fauci was describing a now-notorious event held in the White House Rose Garden on September 26 that he believes infected many people, describing it for the second time as a "superspreader" event.

Trump announced early October 2 that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, had tested positive for the coronavirus, and he began receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center later that day.

Almost no one was pictured wearing masks at the Rose Garden event, which was followed by an indoor reception, and senior officials were shown shaking hands and hugging one another. At least 12 people in attendance subsequently tested positive for the virus.

Fauci told "60 Minutes": "When I saw that on TV, I said: 'Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come out of that, that's got to be a problem.'"

In a wide-ranging interview, Fauci criticized what he described as the president's attempts to equate the wearing of a mask with weakness. When Trump was released from the hospital, he appeared on the White House balcony and theatrically removed his mask.

He also publicly misstated the findings of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study last week involving masks, as described in an ABC News report. Health officials maintain that people should wear masks in public where social distancing is not possible.