Dr. Fauci opens up about his “really draining” press conferences with Trump
The one redeeming element of President Trump’s embarrassingly partisan and vitriolic coronavirus press conferences has been the reliable Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. While the president has been focused on picking fights with reporters and slamming governors, Fauci has stuck to the facts, delivering crucial information about COVID-19 to the American people on a regular basis.
The doctor’s adherence to the truth and refusal to aid Trump in his underhanded efforts to whitewash his administration’s staggering failures in handling the virus has rapidly transformed Fauci into a target for the MAGA movement’s infamous, frothing rage. The red hat brigade hates that Fauci has admitted the federal government could have acted sooner to save lives because such an admission makes their glorious cult leader look incompetent (which he is).
In a development that would be shocking if it weren’t so painfully on brand, the president himself even retweeted a tweet containing the hashtag #FireFauci. Calls to do just that have been growing amongst right-wing fanatics, prompting Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) to introduce a bill to block Trump from firing Fauci amidst this crisis.
Through it all, Fauci has remained steadfast and dedicated in his service to the country. He’s wise enough not to get into outright fights with the president and courageous enough to gently but firmly push back against untruths.
Dr. Fauci spoke recently to The Associated Press and offered some insight into his headspace. He chose to apply what he jokingly referred to as the “Fauci mantra” to his interview, by which he means his earnest effort to always be honest with the media.
“So being there, to be able to answer the questions of the media I think is really important because we’re going through a real public health crisis in our country,” said Fauci.
“The downtime that we have there is really draining,” he said, referring to the White House pressers. “You know you wait around for it to start. You prepare for it to start. You stand there. You get up. Like last night, I got home at… I don’t know, you know what the time was. It must have about nine o’clock,” he went on.
“If I had been able to just make a few comments and then go to work that would have really been much better. It’s the downtime. It isn’t the idea of being there and answering questions which I really think is important,” Fauci added.
One can only imagine how exhausting all of this is for Dr. Fauci. Not only is the entire country looking to him for guidance on how to survive an unprecedented and deadly virus, but he’s bound at the hip to an ignoramus of a president whose unhinged followers are whipping themselves into a frenzy. Now, more than ever Americans need Dr. Fauci and Dr. Fauci needs our support.
Fauci also tells @AP that the daily press briefings are important but "really draining." pic.twitter.com/rwa9xoLM2y
— Kelly Daschle (@kellydaschle) April 14, 2020
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