WH Coronavirus Testing Czar: Fauci Is Not 100 Percent Right, He Looks at This ‘From a Very Narrow Public Health Point of View’

 

Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health and White House coronavirus testing czar, said that Dr. Anthony Fauci has not bee “100 percent right” during the pandemic when asked about the White House sidelining him.

On Meet the Press, Chuck Todd brought up a Washington Post article on Fauci being sidelined

Fauci has argued that parts of the country experiencing surges should shut down, “but there is no buy-in for that,” said an official with direct knowledge of the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Four months ahead of Election Day, Trump wants to “reopen and move on,” said another senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations. Those who disagree with that approach are out of favor, the official said.

Todd asked Giroir, “Are there some ideas that you can’t propose because the president will never accept them?”

Giroir started by saying he wants to “put this to rest,” telling Todd, “There is complete, open, honest discussion within the task force. The task force meets three or four times a week. The vice president calls me regularly. Dr. Birx is not one to hold her tongue. Believe me, if there’s a public health opinion that needs to be said, that needs to be it.”

As for Fauci in particular, Giroir continued:

“I respect Dr. Fauci a lot, but Dr. Fauci is not 100% right, and he also doesn’t necessarily — and he admits that — have the whole national interest in mind. He looks at it from a very narrow public health point of view, but let me just say there is absolutely open discourse. I feel absolutely free saying anything to the vice president within those rooms. The vice president I know briefs the president on a daily basis. So nobody feels like anything is held back.”

The Washington Post article Todd cited said that the White House responded with a statement saying “several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.” NBC News ran the same statement from the White House in an article Sunday headlined “White House seeks to discredit Fauci amid coronavirus surge.”

You can watch above, via NBC.

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Josh Feldman is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: josh@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @feldmaniac