Dr. Anthony Fauci insisted Tuesday that “he had not been misleading the American public under any circumstances,” responding to a claim by Donald Trump that he did.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has become a trusted public voice in the coronavirus pandemic.
He was speaking the morning after Sinclair, an influential broadcaster with ties to the US president, stopped an interview on a widely syndicated television show in which the investigator behind the Plandemic conspiracy theory claimed that Fauci made the coronavirus and shipped it to Wuhan, China.
Also Monday night, Trump retweeted a number of controversial claims about the pandemic, including a claim in a podcast presented by former White House adviser Steve Bannon that Fauci “misled the American public on many issues.”
When asked about ABC News’ Good News America tweets, Fauci said, “I don’t tweet, I don’t even read them. I really don’t want to go there. I will just continue to do my job, no matter what comes out, because I think it is very important. “
Fauci, 79, has served six presidents since 1984. However, he has been criticized and marginalized by Trump.
“We are in the midst of a crisis regarding a pandemic,” Fauci said. “This is what I do. This is what I have been trained for my entire professional life and will continue to do.
“I have not been deceiving the American public under any circumstances.”
Fauci also rejected Trump’s continued support for the use of an antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, and other unproven treatments for Covid-19.
On Monday night, Trump retweeted a complaint about YouTube, Facebook and Twitter’s decision to ban a far-right viral video from Breitbart News in which people claiming to be doctors made unsubstantiated claims about alleged cures for the virus.
“The overwhelmingly predominant clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease,” said Fauci.
According to Johns Hopkins University researchers, the US has recorded nearly 4.3 million cases of Covid-19 and almost 150,000 people have died. Cases have emerged in the southern and western states that attempted to reopen their economies in May.
The interview Sinclair left was between Eric Bolling, a former Fox News presenter, and Judy Mikovits. The station originally postponed it after the segments were posted online.
“After further review, we have decided not to broadcast the interview with Dr. Mikovits,” Sinclair said Monday. “Although the segment included a dispute expert with Dr. Mikovits, given the nature of the theories she presented, we believe it is not appropriate to broadcast the interview.”
Sinclair owns television stations throughout the United States. Its president, David D Smith, said that in 2016 he told Trump: “We are here to deliver your message.”
Sinclair said he reiterated his “appreciation for all that Dr. Fauci and his team have accomplished for the health and well-being of Americans and people around the world.”
“During this pandemic, Sinclair and his affiliates have featured Dr. Fauci positively and prominently on the air … there remains an open invitation for Dr. Fauci to appear on our stations at any time.”
Bolling, who interviewed Mikovits and lawyer Larry Klayman, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “a pathologically litigious lawyer and a professional mosquito,” said he had questioned the claim about Fauci in the air and added a contrary voice, Dr. Nicole Saphier, for balance. .
Saphier, a Fox News contributor, said it was “highly unlikely” that Fauci produced the coronavirus, but he also said the virus may have been produced in a laboratory. Trump’s allies have pushed that claim by trying to blame China for the plight of the United States. Experts agree that the virus originated in a humid market, where wild animals are sold for food.
Trump’s relationship with Fauci has been a source of constant speculation and fascination. The New York Times reported Monday that Trump was so angry that Fauci was invited to throw a pitch by the Washington Nationals baseball team that he claimed to have been invited to do the same by the New York Yankees.
No such invitation was made, leading the helpers to fight to save face.
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