WASHINGTON | Dr Anthony Fauci, a well-respected figure in the United States, expressed his displeasure on Sunday after the use of his words in a clip of Team Trump’s coronavirus campaign.
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“In nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly supported any candidate,” said the famous director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases, in a statement sent to CNN.
This 30-second campaign clip highlights Donald Trump’s personal experience with the virus and includes a brief passage from an interview with Dr.r Fauci making it seem like he praises the president’s response to the pandemic.
“I can’t imagine that (…) anyone could do more,” he says.
“The statements attributed to me without my permission by the Republican Party campaign team were taken out of context from a comment I made several months ago regarding the efforts of federal health authorities,” the immunologist explained in his response to CNN.
Member of the White House coronavirus task force, Dr Fauci, a 79-year-old world-renowned expert, had – with finesse – to reframe the President of the United States and rectify the situation after the approximate – or erroneous – remarks of the latter on future vaccines or treatments against COVID-19.
The tone was sometimes raised a notch like in April when Donald Trump had retweeted a message containing the mention #FireFauci, “Go Fauci”, before assuring that “Tony” was doing a great job.