Fauci rebukes Trump’s renewed push for ineffective Covid-19 treatment

Source: Politico | July 28, 2020 | Quint Forgey

The doctor repeatedly contradicted medical advice the president shared online.

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday dismissed dubious medical advice President Donald Trump shared on Twitter the previous evening, vowing to continue in his role as the country’s top infectious disease expert despite a new salvo of attacks from the White House.

In an interview Tuesday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Fauci promoted best practices for combating the coronavirus and repeatedly contradicted the president, who tweeted more than a dozen times Monday night in defense of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19.

One of the messages Trump retweeted featured a woman who claimed to be a Houston physician, surrounded by others in white lab coats outside what appeared to be the U.S. Supreme Court, advocating on behalf of the antimalarial medication and discouraging the use of face masks.

That post has since been flagged by Twitter and removed from the president’s feed.

Addressing Trump’s social media activity, Fauci stressed Tuesday that Americans “should all be wearing masks outside” and agreed with the Food and Drug Administration’s decision last month to withdraw its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine.

“The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in [treating the] coronavirus disease,” he said.

Fauci also was asked about one of Trump’s retweets Monday that cast doubt on his scientific credentials, including a message alleging he had “misled the American public on many issues.”

The widely respected immunologist has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for more than three-and-a-half decades, advising several presidents over the course of his career.

“I don’t know how to address that. I’m just going to certainly continue doing my job,” Fauci said Tuesday, adding: “I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.”

Trump’s latest Twitter spree represents a return to form for the president, who had escalated efforts in recent weeks to undermine his own public health officials before seemingly projecting a more science-focused tone last Tuesday regarding the pandemic.

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