As President Donald Trump and his coronavirus task force appear before the nation for daily briefings, there have been reports that the president is making untrue comments to the country.
One of the more circulated of those mistruths is the presidentâs statement that âanybody who wants a test can get a test,â as he told reporters on March 6.
In an interview with Science Magazine, Dr. Anthony Fauci â who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases â spoke about what it is like to be beside the president as he speaks to the nation.
Asked what he is able to do while Trump makes remarks that âarenât true and arenât factual,â â like suggesting that China knew about the coronavirus in September â Fauci said, âThe next time sit down with him and talk about what heâs going to say, they will say, âBy the way, Mr. President, be careful about this and donât say that.ââ
He continued, âBut I canât jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Letâs try and get it corrected for the next time.â
Fauci also told Science Magazine that he will never call the coronavirus the âChina Virusâ, as Trump has repeatedly done.
Fauci also revealed the preparation stage for the daily press conferences, explaining what happens before the coronavirus task force goes in front of the press:
âWe sit down for an hour and a half, go over all the issues on the agenda. And then we proceed from there to an anteroom right in front of the Oval Office to talk about what are going to be the messages, what are the kind of things weâre going to want to emphasize? Then we go in to see the president, we present to him and somebody writes a speech. Then he gets up and ad libs on his speech. And then weâre up there to try and answer questions.â
Additionally, Fauci was asked how he has managed to not get fired, to which he responded, âEven though we disagree on some things, he listens. He goes his own way. He has his own style. But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.â
