Trump Defends Pulling Dr. Fauci’s Security Detail By Claiming He ‘Made A Lot Of Money’: ‘You Can’t Have It Forever’

President Donald Trump defended removing Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail by arguing he “can’t have government security forever.”

Since reentering the Oval Office earlier this week, Trump has also removed the Secret Service security detail for former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

According to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Fauci’s security deal was being paid for by the National Institutes of Health. The detail was removed last night but Fauci has reportedly hired his own private security.

During a press conference in North Carolina on Friday morning, Trump claimed that Bolton and Fauci “made a lot of money” so “they can hire their own security too.”

REPORTER: The security detail for Anthony Fauci was terminated last night, sir. Do you have a comment?

TRUMP: No. I think, you know, when you work for government at some point your security detail comes off and you know, you can’t have it forever. So I think it’s very standard. It would be for somebody else who wouldn’t be asking the question. The question is very fair. But, you know, you work for government. We took some off other people, too. But you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government —

REPORTER: Would you feel partially responsible if something were to happen to, say, Dr. Fauci or John Bolton?

TRUMP: No, no, you know they all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security too — all the people you’re talking about. They can go out, I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They can hire their own security. They all made a lot of money. Fauci made a lot of money — they all did. So if they, you know, felt that strongly, I think that certainly I would not take responsibility.

Watch the clip above via CNN.