President Donald Trump says Dr. Anthony Fauci has “called a lot of bad calls” and that sometimes his words on television are “a little bit off,” but thinks the top infectious disease expert is a “nice guy.”
In Arizona, on Monday, Trump was asked if he criticized Fauci because of his public standing, “We let him do what he wants to do. He gets a lot of television, and he loves being on television … sometimes, he says things that are a little bit off, and they get built up, unfortunately. But he’s a nice guy. I like him.”
“But he’s called a lot of bad calls, he said don’t wear a mask, and he said don’t ban China. They were bad calls. He admits that. And I don’t hold that against him. If I did, I wouldn’t have him,” he said.
Trump was asked if he would consider firing Fauci. He said, “I don’t want to hurt him. He’s been there for about 350 years, I don’t want to hurt him.”
Watching the video below:
JUST IN: President Trump on Dr. Anthony Fauci: "I don't want to hurt him. He's been there for about 350 years, I don't want to hurt him.' pic.twitter.com/hreEhkdpCz
— The Hill (@thehill) October 19, 2020
Trump’s comments come hours after he claimed Americans are “tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots” about COVID-19.
In a series of tweets, he said, “P.S. Tony should stop wearing the Washington Nationals’ Mask for two reasons. Number one, it is not up to the high standards that he should be exposing. Number two, it keeps reminding me that Tony threw out perhaps the worst first pitch in the history of Baseball!”
He has maintained that Fauci is a “nice guy” and says he does not hold what he sees as bad advice from Fauci against him.
