Fauci: WH Has Controlled When I Can Speak With Media

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday that the White House has been controlling when he can speak with the media.

“I certainly have not been allowed to go on many, many, many shows that have asked for me,” said Fauci, who is a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and has been head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 36 years.

Fauci added, however, that the restrictions have not been “consistent.”

Referring to the treatment President Donald Trump received after he contracted the coronavirus, Fauci says he is optimistic about the early use of experimental therapies like remdesivir and the monoclonal antibodies given to the president.

When asked if he finds it ironic that the president, who has not always consistently followed the advice of public health officials, appears to have been made better by science, Fauci said, “I don’t think it’s ironic. I think it’s fortunate that the president of the United States benefited from science.”

The doctor added that “I think deep down, [the president] believes in science. If he didn’t, he would not have entrusted his health to the very competent physicians at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.”

Fauci added that when Trump pushes back against remarks that he or other scientists have made, “I think that’s less an anti-science than it’s more a statement” about the president wanting to project what he considers strength about fighting the virus.