Dr. Anthony Fauci is not so surprised that President Donald Trump previously contracted COVID-19.
Asked if he was “surprised” the president got sick during a CBS News “60 Minutes” interview, which aired on Sunday, Fauci responded, “Absolutely not.”
“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 said, referring to White House Rose Garden where Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee on Sept. 26.
While covering his face with his hands, Fauci said, “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.’ And then sure enough, it turned out to be a super spreader event.”
Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force.
Watch Fauci’s interview below:
Dr. Fauci says he was “absolutely not” surprised that President Trump got sick with coronavirus after seeing POTUS at what “turned out to be a super-spreader event” at the White House. https://t.co/Iq75GoCErk pic.twitter.com/iDWEaoX582
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 18, 2020
Fauci also touched on if he finds it “ironic” that Trump was “made better by science” after “not always” being consistent in following health officials and scientists’ advice, as CBS’ Dr. Jon LaPook put it.
However, Fauci said he does not think it is ironic but, “I think it’s fortunate that the President of the United States benefited from science.”
See Fauci’s comments below:
“I think deep down, [the president] believes in science. If he didn’t, he would not have entrusted his health to the very competent physicians at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center,” says Dr. Fauci. https://t.co/JSDtvPknpO pic.twitter.com/pRBp8xrxvg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 18, 2020
“I think deep down, he believes in science,” he added. “If he didn’t, he would not have entrusted his health to the very competent physicians at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”
Fauci’s remarks come as there are more than 40 million reported coronavirus cases worldwide, as of Monday.