White House press secretary says Trump and Fauci have 'a good working relationship,' even though they reportedly haven't spoken since the first week of June
- Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed during her Monday briefing that the nation's leading infectious disease expert and the president "have always had a good working relationship."
- Fauci and Trump have not spoken since the first week of June and has not been given access to the Oval Office for weeks, according to a Washington Post report.
- The White House also sent The Post "a lengthy list" of instances where Fauci was "wrong" early on in the COVID-19 outbreak.
- "We provided a direct response to a direct question, and that's about it," McEnany said of the list. "And to the notion that there's opposition research, and that there's Fauci vs. the president, that couldn't be further from the truth."
- "Dr. Fauci and the president have always had a very good working relationship."
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied reports Monday that President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci have had a falling out.
Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, reportedly has not spoke with Trump since the first week of June, and has seen limited access to the Oval Office and media appearances, according to a The Washington Post report.
In response to the reporting for that story, the White House sent The Post a list of instances where Fauci has been "wrong" about the coronavirus.
Such a move would be common in campaigns — falling under the umbrella term of "opposition research" — but not with White House officials doing so anonymously to one of the administration's own officials.
McEnany described the list as "a direct response to a direct question" during her Monday briefing.
"And to the notion that there's opposition research, and that there's Fauci vs. the president, that couldn't be further from the truth," McEnany said.
"Dr. Fauci and the president have always had a very good working relationship."
Last week in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump described Fauci as "a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes."
White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro claimed Fauci has been "wrong about everything" in a statement for The Post's story on the apparent falling out.