Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed why he did not attend Tuesday’s White House coronavirus briefing.
During an interview with CNN, host Jake Tapper asked Fauci if he was invited to the briefing.
“I was not invited up to this point. I’m assuming that I’m not going to be there because it’s going to be in just a short while and I’m still here at the NIH so I’m assuming it’s not going to be there,” Fauci said.
Tapper proceeded to ask Fauci when the last time he spoke to the president was.
“I had a good long conversation with him towards the end of last week, I think it might have been Thursday,” Fauci said.
Watch his comments below:
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he was not invited to the White House coronavirus briefing today and says the last time he spoke to President Trump was last week https://t.co/b3a787uR2n pic.twitter.com/8uUO72cYKP
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 21, 2020
During his press briefing, ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl asked Trump why the two leading public health experts were not present.
“Well, Dr. Birx is right outside,” Trump said.
Check out his comments below:
.@Jonkarl: “Why are your doctors not here with you today? Where’s Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx?”
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 21, 2020
President Trump: “Well, Dr. Birx is right outside.” https://t.co/lOp8wHBT7C pic.twitter.com/7KUEbxc13K
White House officials have made efforts to dismantle rumors the Trump administration is attempting to discredit Fauci.
The administration distanced itself from an op-ed penned by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro claiming Fauci had “been wrong about everything,” as IJR previously reported.
The following day, Alyssa Farah, White House Director of Strategic Communications, released a statement arguing the op-ed did not go through the proper review process and it is “the opinion of Peter alone.”
During an interview with the host of “Fox News Sunday” Chris Wallace, Trump became adamant his administration is not trying to discredit Fauci, as IJR previously reported.
When asked why the administration would be involved in a campaign to take aim at Fauci’s credibility, Trump said, “We’re not.”
During an interview with The Atlantic, Fauci called the administration’s attempts to discredit him “a bit bizarre” and said it only negatively affects Trump in the end.