NIH Director Admits He is ‘Puzzled’ and ‘Rather Disheartened’ By Trump’s Michigan Rally

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, weighed in with his reaction to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign rally in Freeland, Michigan, on Thursday.

The public health expert appeared on CNN with host Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta where they discussed the rally.

Collins admitted that he was “pretty puzzled and “rather disheartened” by what he saw at the rally, with some people not wearing masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He also offered an analogy of how he views Trump supporters’ disregard for the coronavirus pandemic.

“How did we get here? Collins implored. “Imagine you were an alien who landed on planet Earth and you saw that our planet was afflicted by an infectious disease and that masks were an effective way to prevent the spread.”

He continued, “And yet when you went around you saw some people not wearing them, and some people wearing them, and you tried to figure out why, and it turned out it was their political party. And you would scratch your head and think this is just not a planet that has much promise for the future.”

“As a scientist, I’m pretty puzzled and rather disheartened.”

See Collins’ remarks below:

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Collins’ remarks came amid reports about Trump’s rally. Photos and footage captured thousands of Trump supporters gathered inside a hangar at the MBS International Airport in Freeland. The rally drew criticism from some due to the lack of masks and social distancing despite the ongoing pandemic.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) also expressed concern about the president’s trip to her state hours before his arrival, as previously reported on IJR.

Even before the rally began, Whitmer anticipated that Trump supporters would not adhere to the state’s mask mandate.

The Democratic governor also feared Trump’s crowd-drawing appearance would reverse the state’s progress made to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“We anticipate that he will be descending on this state and perhaps encouraging people to come maskless,” she said.

As of Friday morning, there are more than 120,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of Michigan.