Dr. Fauci Declares: ‘We Had a Super-Spreader Event in the White House’

Dr. Anthony Fauci accused the White House of hosting a “super-spreader event” with its event in the Rose Garden last month.

“At the White House, we have not seen the president’s aides, until most recently, wearing masks,” CBS Radio’s Steven Portnoy noted in a Friday interview with Fauci. “There have been tests conducted among the president’s senior staff, and we’re told anyone who is in close proximity to the president. What did we learn about the efficacy of that strategy in preventing the spread of coronavirus?”

Fauci didn’t speak to the strategy Portnoy referenced, but said the White House’s Sept. 26 announcement that President Donald Trump was nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court had been responsible for an outbreak of the virus.

“Well, I think the data speak for themselves,” Fauci said. “We had a super-spreader event in the White House, and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves”

Observers have widely noted that a number of individuals who subsequently contracted the coronavirus attended the ceremony. That list includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Mike Lee (R-UT); former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway; and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

It remains possible the outbreak originated elsewhere. Senior White House adviser Hope Hicks, who did not attend the ceremony, reportedly began experiencing symptoms on Sept. 30, as she was flying with the president aboard Air Force One, and tested positive on Oct. 1. Hours later, Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump had also been infected.

Watch above via CBS Radio.