Fauci says he used the 'wrong choice of words' when describing 'pushback' from White House


During Monday's White House coronavirus briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci said comments he made over the weekend were not meant to be jabs against President Trump.
Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force. While appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning, Fauci told host Jake Tapper that in February, there was "a lot of pushback" to the idea of enacting social distancing guidelines, and "you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives." The White House issued social distancing guidelines on March 16.
On Monday, Fauci said he was answering a "hypothetical question," and stating that there was "a lot of pushback" was "the wrong choice of words." When asked if Trump suggested he offer the clarification, Fauci responded, "Everything I do is voluntarily. Please. Don't even imply that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Diddy: An abuser who escaped justice?
Feature The jury cleared Sean Combs of major charges but found him guilty of lesser offenses
-
Death from above: Drones upend rules of war in Ukraine
Feature The world's militaries are paying close attention to drone use in the Russia-Ukraine war
-
Supreme Court: Ceding more power to Trump?
Feature SCOTUS has given Trump a victory by ending nationwide injunctions, limiting judges' power to block presidential orders
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths