Dr. Anthony Fauci countered President Donald Trump’s recent round of attacks on Tuesday, telling ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos he has not been misleading Americans about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m just going to certainly continue doing my job. I don’t tweet. I don’t even read them so I don’t really want to go there. I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out because I think it’s very important. We’re in the middle of a crisis with regard to a pandemic. This is what I do. This is what I’ve been trained for all my professional life and I’ll continue to do it,” said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has been the most public face of the government’s efforts to combat the coronavirus.
He went on, “I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.”
In a series of Monday retweets, Trump shared a post from Steve Bannon’s podcast that said Fauci misled people about the coronavirus crisis and the drug hydroxychloroquine.
During his “Good Morning America” interview, Fauci stood firm with the FDA against use of the lupus and malaria medicine for coronavirus patients: “The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.”
He reiterated that wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds and washing hands were best practices.
Watch Fauci’s interview above via ABC News.