Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony S. Fauci addresses his remarks and urges citizens to continue to follow the President’s coronavirus guidelines during a coronavirus (COVID-19) briefing Wednesday, April 22, 2020, in the James S. Brady White House Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
In the latest kerfuffle between Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the WSJ invites readers to decide for themselves.
Let’s Go To the Videotapes
When Dr. Fauci was asked if he had ever seen as large a public response by an Administration to such a health threat, he responded:
“We’ve never had a threat like this, and the coordinated response, and there are a number of adjectives to describe this, impressive, I think is one of them. We’re talking about all hands on deck.”
In the case of Anthony Fauci vs. Donald Trump, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) doctor and the media say the Trump campaign is running an ad that takes Dr. Fauci’s words in vain.
The 30 Second Trump Ad:
“President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America” and goes on to note “together we rose to meet the challenge, protecting our seniors, getting them life-saving drugs in record time.”
Fauci Says in Trump Ad:
“I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more.”
The Trump administration has made mistakes in fighting the virus, but Dr. Fauci noted in a recent Fox interview, the Federal government (led by President Trump) also mobilized an unprecedented effort.
- It surged ventilators and built field hospitals in hard-hit states while accelerating therapies and vaccines.
- On Feb. 4 the administration signed a deal with Regeneron to develop a monoclonal antibody treatment that may soon be available to hundreds of thousands of Americans.
- By mid-February, Moderna and NIH were working on a vaccine.
Democrats accuse the President of not having listened to scientists last spring. If he had, Democrats claim, the U.S. would have vanquished the virus.
But (Trump) did listen, following advice to lock down the country for more than a month with destructive economic effect. The irony of this election may be that Mr. Trump listened to Dr. Fauci too much on lockdowns.
As team Biden blames the Trump administration for easing U.S. lockdowns too early, it’s important to note that Europe, which waited longer to re-open, is experiencing a second Coronavirus wave.
