Ex-Pence adviser says Trump's Fauci ad is a 'gross' example of a White House with 'no regard for the truth'

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Republican Voters Against Trump)

published 13 October 2020

Olivia Troye, a former member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is calling the Trump campaign's decision to use an edited clip of Dr. Anthony Fauci in a new ad "gross and upsetting and typical of a White House that has no regard for the truth."

Before resigning in July, Troye served as Vice President Mike Pence's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, and was his lead staffer on the task force. She began speaking out against the Trump administration last month, releasing an ad with the Republican Voters Against Trump organization that slammed the president for not taking COVID-19 seriously.

Fauci is the nation's top infectious disease expert, and for a new ad, the Trump campaign spliced together Fauci's words in an attempt to make it sound like he was praising the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Fauci said on Sunday his words were used out of context and without his permission, and over the course of his career he has "never publicly endorsed any political candidate." On Monday, he called on the campaign to take down the ad.

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Troye was shocked by the ad, and in response she quickly filmed a new video for Republican Voters Against Trump, which was released on Monday night. In it, Troye explains that she worked side-by-side with Fauci on the coronavirus task force, and she "witnessed Donald Trump and senior White House officials routinely sideline and discredit Dr. Fauci, both privately and publicly, and now the Trump campaign is twisting Dr. Fauci's words in a campaign ad for their own political gain."

This is "gross and upsetting and typical of a White House that has no regard for the truth," Troye continues. "For Donald Trump, it's always about him. For Dr. Fauci, it's always been about serving the American people. Join me as a Republican and former Trump administration staffer who is voting for Joe Biden." Republican Voters Against Trump says the ad will air nationally during one of Trump's favorite shows: Fox & Friends. Catherine Garcia

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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.