Dr. Anthony Fauci has made several media appearances across different programs since the coronavirus pandemic began. He is a member of the White House task force.
During an appearance on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” aired on Sunday, Fauci was asked if the White House “has been controlling” when he can speak with the media.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responded, “I think you’d have to be honest to say yes.”
“I have certainly not been allowed to go on many, many, many shows that have asked for me,” he continued.
CBS’ Dr. Jon LaPook asked if Fauci can understand the “frustration” of not hearing from Fauci — who he dubbed “one of the most trusted voices in America” — sometimes.
“Can you understand the frustration that maybe there’s been a restriction on the flow of information?” LaPook asked, to which Fauci said, “There has been a restriction…but, it isn’t consistent.”
See Fauci’s remarks below:
Has the White House been controlling when Dr. Fauci can speak with the media?
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 18, 2020
“To be honest… yes,” says Dr. Fauci. “There has been a restriction… but, it isn’t consistent.” https://t.co/LXBve3PUWC pic.twitter.com/YOoNLnAHc9
A former homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Olivia Troye, spoke about Fauci and his appearances at the White House during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper over the weekend.
Troye said that senior White House officials would “look away and roll their eyes” when Fauci gave briefings on the warnings of the coronavirus. Troye was an aide to the White House coronavirus task force.
She said, “I saw people in the room during the meetings, people, senior White House officials, look away and roll their eyes while he was briefing sometimes, or they would try to push back and say, ‘Well, can’t you spin the data this way?'” She described those officials as “people who do not have any medical or scientific backgrounds.”
Troye also claimed that she “would have to call [Fauci] at times when he was on his way and say, ‘Dr. Fauci, you’re not needed today, I’m sorry.'”
Asked by Tapper if it was “because they didn’t want him at White House delivering facts, delivering truth?” Troye said, “Correct.”
