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Unlike what you will read in the mass media, Dr. Anthony Fauci continues to have conversations with Donald Trump and also considers him a “smart person who understands the problem” when referring to the pandemic.
The full context of this sentence was from the conversation between the journalist from the German magazine Der Spiegel and the immunology specialist about the situation of COVID-19 in the United States: “Don’t you feel powerless when you look at the current situation in the United States,” the journalist asked, “I never feel powerless. Helpless means you can’t do anything, and there is a lot we can do,” Fauci replied to one of the first questions.
The journalist went on to ask why Trump had such unintelligent and unscientific rhetoric about the pandemic, “Why did he always seem to be a badly advised president?” Fauci was candid and replied, “that takes the prize for the question of the year,” referring to the fact that there was no specific reason or answer. But the journalist insisted and asked the epidemiologist for “the answer of the year.” “Seriously, the president is an intelligent person. He understands. He has his own ideas about things. He expresses them differently, but he’s a pretty smart guy,” he said in the interview.
Fauci is one of the most important epidemiologists in the USA and recognized worldwide. Since 1984, he has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland. His institute has a budget of no more and no less than six billion USD and is a prominent one in research on pathologies such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and autoimmune diseases, according to Der Spiegel.
The infectious disease expert has also advised a total of six U.S. presidents since the Reagan administration. A medical veteran.
Of course, he has had his differences with the White House. There was a great controversy because Donald Trump, after praising him publicly, began to criticize him; he even went so far as to call him “a little alarmist.” But Fauci denied that he has stopped having conversations with the president. In fact, the expert mentioned that the previous week he spoke with Trump about the vaccine they are developing at the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, regarding Trump’s inappropriate comment about the alleged “recommendation to ingest disinfectants to combat the virus,” Fauci pointed out that this was taken out of context at a delicate time.
However, the doctor confessed to Der Spiegel that what the White House did to demerit him was “really unfortunate and unjustified,” nevertheless, Fauci does not seem to hold a grudge against the administration or Trump. He takes for granted that all the media hype around him has also been an exaggerated situation.
The specialist also referred to how complicated it is to deliver a public health message when the pandemic is politicized, and he is absolutely right, both political camps – Democrats and Republicans – have used COVID-19 as a campaign tool for the upcoming November elections, especially the opposition side, which had little chance of winning the elections before the economic and health crisis. The Der Spiegel journalist also noted that the same phenomenon of politicizing public health is occurring in Germany. And the reality is that this is happening all over the world.
Fauci made it clear that the U.S. is a very large country, so it is susceptible or vulnerable to such events as the pandemic.
The expert was also “cautiously optimistic” – as were his colleagues – about the development of the vaccine. The researcher spoke of the fact that it is not yet determined when or how effective the antidote to the disease will be, but he affirms that between now and the beginning of 2021, “tens of millions of doses should be available.”
Another interesting point in the conversation with Der Spiegel was when the journalist asked Fauci if he was “secretly waiting for a Joe Biden as president,” the epidemiologist was blunt: “One of the reasons I think I’ve been able to effectively and successfully advise six U.S. presidents since Ronald Reagan is because I’m still completely apolitical. I am a scientist, a physician. I am a public health individual. I have no ideology.” Fauci went on to explain that, if he were to begin taking political positions, his quality as a scientist and his credibility as a public health official could decline, and that is the main reason he has remained neutral during his terms as a presidential advisor.
In short, as Fauci revealed, the relationship with the White House persists, and he does not believe that Trump is an anti-science guy, on the contrary, he considers him someone intelligent and who understands the problem, beyond any differences he may have with the administration.
Fauci’s statements are very interesting because he also mentions the issue of polarization and misinterpretation in public health messages, and this phenomenon occurs not only because it is fed by politicians, but also by the big media that is eager to manipulate and exaggerate and ends up being complicit in bringing a harmful message to society.
La revista Der Spiegel en Alemania entrevista al epidemiólogo Faucci quien, contrario a lo que dicen otros medios, define a Trump como un sujeto inteligente que comprende la situación. https://t.co/XWRQ6KBvvS
— Ivo Hernandez (@IvoCaracas) August 21, 2020
Fauci is not a Trump sycophant, nor is he a totally critical and irrational guy against the U.S. president, just someone with a sensible stance who understands that the country’s economy must be reopened with the corresponding health measures and who understands the complexity of the problem in all its dimensions. Differences with Trump? Sure, there are thousands, but there are also other issues on which they agree, as can be deduced from his words.
Moral: do not get carried away by the media avalanche and its controversy.
