Fauci said he would 'get in trouble' for telling the truth under Trump.
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Thursday it is "liberating" for him to be allowed to tell the truth about the COVID-19 pandemic response under President Joe Biden, after being muzzled during Donald Trump's administration.
Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Biden's chief medical adviser. He made his comments at a White House press briefing Thursday in his first extended comments from the White House briefing room in months.
"The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence — what the science is, and know that's it, let the science speak, it is somewhat of a liberating feeling," Fauci said, contrasting the current situation under Biden to the one under Trump.
Asked by a reporter if he felt like he was back after being "banished" by the Trump administration, Fauci laughed and said, "I think so."
Fauci added that he "got in trouble sometimes" for telling the truth about the pandemic under Trump.
Trump's obsession with bogus medical treatments for COVID — like his suggestion that people could inject disinfectant, or his frequent recommendation of hydroxychloroquine, despite evidence that it was not effective — was an area of concern for the doctor.
"It is very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine, and other things like that, that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact," Fauci said.
He noted that he took "no pleasure" in contradicting Trump, but he often felt like could not say something "and there wouldn't be any repercussions."
Fauci said it was made clear to him in a discussion with Biden before the briefing that he should be "completely transparent, open and honest," in contrast to how things operated under Trump.
He added that he was told that when things go wrong, he was told to "not point fingers but to correct them."
According to Fauci, Biden communicated to him "to make everything we do be based on science and evidence."
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
