President Trump broke with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday by saying the U.S. is in a “good place” in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Greta Van Susteren of “Full Court Press” questioned the president on how to “reconcile” Fauci’s recent warnings about the U.S.’s handling of the coronavirus with other “encouraging news” like the “possibilities of a vaccine coming out.”
“Well, I think we are in a good place,” Trump said. “I disagree with him. Dr. Fauci said don’t wear masks, and now he says wear them.”
The president added that Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said “numerous things,” like not to ban travel from China, which Trump announced at the end of January.
“I didn’t listen to my experts, and I banned China,” he said. “We would have been in much worse shape.”
“So we’ve done a good job,” he added. “I think we are going to be in two, three, four weeks, by the time we next speak, I think we’re going to be in very good shape.”
Trump acknowledged the rise in cases in states like California and Florida but said “many other states are in very fine shape.”
The president’s comments contrast from what Fauci has warned in recent weeks, including on Monday when he said the state of the pandemic in the U.S. is “really not good,” and the country needs to take action to stop the surge in cases.
On Monday, the NIAID director pointed to some states and localities reopening too quickly saying it has led to “record-breaking cases.” Fauci also said the U.S. did not decrease the number of cases enough before the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.
“We are still knee-deep in the first wave of this,” he said during an online chat hosted by the National Institutes of Health.
……..
- Discussion
-
Trump breaks with Fauci: US in "good place" in fight against virus https://t.co/BKiZL8kPkE pic.twitter.com/NM2fZ0Adfs
— The Hill (@thehill) July 8, 2020
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.