Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered his take on President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as he explained why he believes reopening too quickly may have played a significant role in the surge of the virus.
During a discussion with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Facebook CEO asked questions about the pandemic as the coronavirus outbreak rages on.
Zuckerberg admitted he does not believe the coronavirus is being taken seriously enough. He also stressed the importance of the pandemic response being “guided by science.”
He also noted the United States’ current trajectory and how it differs vastly from several other countries as he criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic, saying its efforts have been “considerably less effective.”
“At this point, it is clear that the trajectory of the U.S. is significantly worse than many other countries, and that our government and this administration have been considerably less effective in handling this,” Zuckerberg noted.
See the full discussion below:
Fauci’s latest interview with Zuckerberg comes amid increasing speculation about his reported clashes with the White House behind closed doors.
Although Trump and his administration have sought to undermine Fauci’s expertise and credibility, he has continued to speak openly with his take on the pandemic.
During his discussion with Zuckerberg, Fauci admitted that the surges in Southern states are “disturbing.”
He went on to discuss the reopening guidelines, as he suggested the latest statistics are, in part, a result of states jumping over checkpoints too quickly.
“When you look at what the guidelines were for opening, you know the checkpoints that you have to get past before you went to the next phase, some of them went too quickly and officially jumped over them,” Fauci said. “That, as I had said in previous discussions, is a recipe for getting into trouble.”
In addition to swift reopening, Fauci also noted the impact of public congregating without masks and not socially distancing. He said it is “at least part of the explanation” for the surges.
As of Friday, there are more than 3.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States.