Admiral Brett Giroir, a physician who is part of the White House coronavirus task force, confirmed a report on Sunday that President Trump has not attended a meeting with the group in several months, but said he is “not concerned” about Trump’s absence.
While appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Giroir was asked by host Martha Raddatz about The Washington Post’s reporting that Trump has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in at least five months.
“That’s true, but the vice president does chair the coronavirus task force,” replied Giroir. “We often have several Cabinet members there, and the vice president briefs the president every day, or nearly every day, on coronavirus, so I’m not concerned that the president doesn’t attend.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a fellow member of the task force, also told CNN on Sunday that Trump has not been to a COVID-19 meeting in “several months.”
Raddatz then asked Giroir for his thoughts on the Trump administration’s refusal to help in transitioning to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, recently stated that his team should make contact with Biden’s transition team, but communication is currently being held up.
“I’m not Dr. Slaoui. I can say from my point of view that the [General Service Administration] can control the transition process. My team, all the docs that work for us, we want to be extremely transparent. We are extremely transparent with the media with outside experts with public health experts,” said Giroir.
Raddatz pressed Giroir for a direct answer regarding the transition process and Biden’s access to COVID-19 information.
“I want to be as transparent as possible with everybody. This is not a political issue, this is an issue of public health and saving American lives. And I think there’s nothing more important than that,” he responded.