Trump's top infectious-diseases expert described his battle to stop the president making misleading coronavirus claims: 'I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down'
- Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US expert on infectious diseases, has described the difficulty of ensuring President Donald Trump sticks to the facts during coronavirus briefings.
- "I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time," he told Science magazine in an interview published Sunday.
- Fauci has publicly corrected Trump when he's made misleading claims at past coronavirus task force briefings, on issues such as the likely timeframe for the availability of a vaccine for the illness.
- When asked about the briefing last week in which he covered his face when Trump riffed about a "deep state" conspiracy theory, Fauci replied: "No comment."
- However, Fauci stressed that despite their differing public statements, Trump does listen to him on the "substantive issues."
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Dr Anthony Fauci, the top infectious-diseases expert in the US, has described his battle to stop President Donald Trump making misleading claims during the daily briefings by the White House coronavirus task force.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spoke frankly about trying to make sure Trump sticks to the facts in an interview with Science magazine published Sunday.
Referring to Trump's recent claim that China could have informed the US of the coronavirus outbreak "three or four months" before the US imposed its February 3 travel ban on China, Fauci said: "The way it happened is that after he made that statement ... I told the appropriate people, it doesn't comport, because two or three months earlier would have been September."
"The next time they sit down with him and talk about what he's going to say, they will say, by the way, Mr. President, be careful about this and don't say that," Fauci continued.
"But I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time."
Fauci, who has served under four presidents as director of NIAID, was also asked whether he had been reprimanded for covering his face with his hand and shaking his head when Trump went off on a tangent about a "deep state" conspiracy theory at a coronavirus briefing last Friday.
"No comment," replied Fauci.
Fauci also told the magazine that he was attempting to reduce the number of people at the daily briefings - with some countries having outlawed small gatherings to stop the spread of the disease.
"But when you're dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things one, two, three, four times, and then it happens. So I'm going to keep pushing," remarked Fauci, of his attempts to reduce the numbers at the briefings.
Fauci was also questioned about the president's insistence on calling the illness the "China virus," which critics claim is a bid to stir xenophobia and score political points against a geopolitical rival.
When asked if he'd use the term himself, Fauci replied simply: "No."
Fauci's sober, fact-based assessments of the coronavirus crisis at White House briefings have contrasted with Trump's public statements. Trump downplayed the threat from the illness for weeks, then went on to spread misleading claims about the progress of developing vaccines.
Fauci in several briefings has publicly corrected the president, including one last Friday where Trump said that he had a "feeling" an anti-malarial medication could prove effective fighting the illness, and Fauci immediately said the scientific evidence was not there to support the president's belief.
Fauci also joked about speculation that the president could be gearing up to fire Fauci, telling Science magazine: "Well, I'm sort of exhausted. But other than that, I'm good. I mean, I'm not, to my knowledge, coronavirus infected. To my knowledge, I haven't been fired [Laughs]," according to a transcript.
Fauci, however, stressed that even though their public statements diverge, Trump does listen to what he says.
"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," remarked Fauci.
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