Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), offered insight into his relationship with Vice President Mike Pence amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In an email interview published by the Washington Post, Fauci explained how Pence listens to his advice.
Fauci told the newspaper while he is “sometimes referred to as ‘the skunk at the picnic'” Pence “never directly asks me, the skunk, to be quiet or leave.”
He called Pence “a truly decent person, and very smart.”
When discussing Pence’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci said he is “trying to do his best in a very difficult and fluid situation.”
According to Fauci, Pence is “an optimist” and a “glass half full type of person.”
“Some may say that Pence and his team are ‘too ideological,’ but they are after all political people. This is not unexpected,” Fauci said.
The Trump administration previously received backlash for its criticism of the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
Trump told Fox News during a phone interview on July 9, Fauci “is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes,” as IJR previously reported.
Just days after Trump’s comments, Pence expressed his appreciation for Fauci during a campaign press call, as IJR previously reported.
He called Fauci “a valued member” of the White House coronavirus task force and they “couldn’t be more grateful for his steady counsel.”
Despite Trump’s comments, Fauci told Americans they can trust him during a virtual event hosted by Georgetown University.
He also told The Atlantic the attempts to discredit him were “a bit bizarre” and they ultimately “hurt” the president in the end.
During a “Good Morning America” interview on July 28, Fauci dismissed a retweet by Trump accusing him of misleading the public.
The coronavirus continues to spread across the nation.
Since the onset of the outbreak, there have been more than 5.7 million coronavirus cases and over 177,000 deaths in the United States alone.