Fauci speaks and Trump Tweets: Why Fauci may fear for his job

Anthony Fauci speaking to press. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

By Aaron Kershaw

Lead physician of the White House Coronavirus Task Force Dr. Anthony Fauci may fear for his job today, as President Trump retweeted calls for his firing Sunday night. Fauci subtly criticized the Trump Administrations' slow response to the deadly virus that has killed over 22,000 Americans in an interview with Jake Tapper.

"Obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives," said Fauci.

Fauci also confirmed the shocking report by the New York Times that he and other members of the Trump Administration had recommended social distancing guidance to bar the spread of COVID-19 in February. Still, the Administration dismissed Fauci's recommendation for nearly a month.

Fauci deemed the decision to ignore his recommendation for social and physical distance "complicated," suggesting that the Trump Administration considered factors outside the scope of medical professionals.

"...At least from the standpoint of the public health aspect that we look at. Other decisions are gonna have to be made at the level of the President and the governors about what they are going to do with all the information they get," Fauci said.

Due to COVID-19, Trump is enduring a spiking unemployment rate and a vulnerable economy in an election year. In March, Trump was openly critical of the medical community as he looked to get Americans back to work despite the guidance suggested by the public health community.

"We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem," Trump said in March, suggesting that the problem is not dying Americans, but a floundering economy.

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