Talking to CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday, America’s top infectious disease specialist teased he would probably quit before serving as an advisor to Trump again.
“If Trump were to return to the White House as President, and COVID was still a threat, or there was some other public health emergency, would you have confidence in his ability to deal with a pandemic of this nature? Would you want to stay on at your post?” Acosta questioned Fauci.
“Well, no to the second question,” Fauci replied between nervous laughs.
“The first question, if you look at the history of what the response was during the Administration, I think at best you could say it wasn’t optimal.”
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He said, “And I think just history will speak for itself. I don’t need to make any further comment about that, it’s not productive.”
Fauci and Trump have a history of clashes on high-profile public health issues.
Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor was reportedly sidelined by the Trump White House, rarely seeming in press briefings and kept from doing interviews with prominent news outlets.
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He often resorted to spreading his message regarding COVID through local news interviews and podcasts.
In the meantime, Trump made his displeasure with Fauci known, calling him an “idiot” and publicly mulling firing him.
Fauci, 82, has been the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases since 1984.
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He was appointed as Chief Medical Advisor to the Biden Administration in 2021. Fauci has spent decades advising U.S. Presidents on disease outbreaks and became a public figure throughout the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.
The rocky relationship between the former President and Fauci became evident at the start of the pandemic, as Trump became increasingly resistant to pushing Americans to obey restrictive health guidelines recommended by Fauci.
In reflecting on his relationship with Trump after Biden was sworn in, Fauci stressed in January 2021 that he took no joy in contradicting the former Commander-In-Chief.
“It was very clear that they were things that were said, regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that. That really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact, I can tell you I take no pleasure at all in being in a situation of contradicting the President,” he announced.
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Trump took a dose of the drug to ward off the Coronavirus - a practice many experts have shown concern about. He eventually got the virus and recovered.
“You didn't feel like you could say something and there wouldn’t be repercussions,” he announced.
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