Dr. Anthony Fauci is asking President Trump’s reelection campaign to stop using statements he has made praising the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic to paint the president as capable of leading the nation through the crisis.
“By doing this against my will they are, in effect, harassing me,” Fauci told the Daily Beast in a story published Tuesday. “Since campaign ads are about getting votes, their harassment of me might have the opposite effect of turning some voters off.”
A new campaign ad for Trump released this month features a clip of Fauci saying “I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more” about the pandemic.
The nation’s leading infectious disease doctor said his quote, which was given in March, was taken out of context for political purposes.
“The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials,” Fauci said.
Trump tweeted on Monday claiming that several of Fauci’s predictions about the pandemic have turned out to be wrong.
“Actually, Tony’s pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications,” Trump said in an apparent reference to Fauci’s throwing out of the first pitch at Major League Baseball’s opening game this season.
“‘No problem, no masks'”. Trump wrote. “WHO no longer likes Lockdowns — just came out against. Trump was right. We saved 2,000,000 USA lives!!!”
Fauci told the Daily Beast that despite Trump’s attacks, he has never considered resigning from the White House Task Force combating coronavirus.
“Not in my wildest freakin’ dreams,” Fauci said, “did I ever think about quitting.”