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American infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has criticized a Trump campaign ad in which he appears to be praising the president.
Dr. Fauci said he did not agree to appear in the ad and that the comments made by him were taken out of context.
The 30-second ad was released last week and covers Donald Trump’s own recovery from the coronavirus and his administration’s efforts to deal with the pandemic.
It also shows Dr. Fauci saying, “I can’t imagine anyone could be doing more.”
The quote is taken from an interview in March, when the doctor was speaking about the administration’s effort, including the work of the White House coronavirus task force, rather than Trump’s effort.
Dr. Fauci, who has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, said in a statement: “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate.
“The comments attributed to me without my permission in the Republican campaign ad were taken out of context from a comprehensive statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”
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Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said: “As Dr. Fauci recently testified in the Senate, President Trump took the virus seriously from the start, acted swiftly, and saved lives.”
Trump tweeted Sunday: “In fact, these are Dr. Fauci’s own words. We have done a ‘phenomenal’ job, according to some governors.”
The pandemic has infected nearly 7.7 million people in the United States and killed more than 214,000.
It’s one of the biggest issues in next month’s presidential election, and opinion polls show that most voters disapprove of how Trump has handled it.
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