President Donald Trump Tuesday insisted he gets along "very well" with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, flatly denying any strife between himself and the outspoken doctor.
"We get along very well," Trump said during a Fox News virtual coronavirus town hall, in which Dr. Fauci did not participate. "I think it’s been very good."
He praised both Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force as "extraordinary" and called them "great people," but pointed out that sometimes, one or the other of them will have "other things to do."
Fauci is often present, as part of the task force, at White House briefings, but was not there Monday or at the press conference, which has sparked some speculation that he and the president are not getting along.
Fauci's remarks have often gone against those that Trump has made, but he said in a podcast interview Tuesday morning that he wants the media to quit pitting him and Trump, and that the president has often listened to advice coming from him and others on the team, reports The Hill.