Fauci: I Was Taken Out Of Context in Trump Ad
Dr. Anthony Fauci, pushing back against the president, did not consent to having his image and words featured in a new Donald Trump campaign ad touting the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the country’s leading infectious disease expert and most credible source of information about the coronavirus, says his words were taken out of context.
In a statement to CNN on Sunday Fauci wrote:
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”
The Trump campaign released the new ad last week after the President was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following treatment for COVID-19.
The 30-second ad, which is airing in Michigan, tout’s Trump’s personal experience with the virus and uses a quote from Fauci in an attempt to make it appear as if he is praising Trump’s response.
“President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America,” the ad’s narrator says. “Together we rose to meet the challenge, protecting our seniors, getting them life-saving drugs in record time, sparing no expense.”
The ad then flashes to an interview with Fauci in which he says, “I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more.”
Apparently Trump only wants to make Fauci the face of his pandemic response when it suits his purpose. As Jonathan Karl notes Sunday morning on ABC News’s “This Week,” Trump’s administration blocked Fauci from appearing on the program and refused to make any other officials available in his stead.