Fauci says Trump ad uses his words without permission and out of context

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that a new Trump campaign ad about the coronavirus pandemic uses his words out of context and without his permission.

The 30-second ad, titled "Carefully," praises President Trump for how he has handled the pandemic, which has left more than 214,000 Americans dead. It also features an edited clip of Fauci, his words spliced together so he says, "I can't imagine that ... anybody could be doing more."

In a statement to CBS News, Fauci said that in his "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."

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The soundbite was taken from an interview Fauci did on Fox News in March, when he was asked about the federal response to the virus. Fauci discussed how the White House Coronavirus Task Force was doing an "impressive" job trying to tackle the pandemic, then in its very early stages. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told CBS News the video uses Fauci's "own words," and they are "accurate, and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth."