When Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Adviser to President Joe Biden, said on Sunday he'd leave the job if it meant working for a second term of President Donald Trump, a lot of prominent conservatives said that was A-OK with them.
Fauci was interviewed Sunday on CNN by Jim Acosta, who asked him, "If Trump were to return to the White House as president, and COVID is still a threat or there is some other public health emergency, would you have confidence in his ability ... to deal with a pandemic of this nature? Would you want to stay on in your post?"
"Well, no to the second question," Fauci responded. "The first question, if you look at the history of what the response was during the administration, I think at best you could say it wasn't optimal. And I think just history will speak for itself. I don't need to make any further comment about that, it's not productive."
Fauci was the early face of the pandemic response during Trump's administration, but the two frequently clashed over messaging, and Trump eventually took over press briefings himself with Fauci becoming unseen. Trump once called him an "idiot" and publicly considered firing him.
Many on the right accuse Fauci of flip-flopping on messaging about masks during the pandemic and downplaying the possibility that COVID may have originated in China's Wuhan lab.
Conservatives were quick to welcome Fauci's words, according to the Daily Mail, which published a roundup of their tweets.
"Best possible endorsement for Trump in 2024," Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist, tweeted. "Good riddance to this corrupt, evil little elf."
Political pundit Stephen L. Miller sarcastically chimed in, "Stop encouraging Trump to run again."
"Sayonara, Fauci,"Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier said.
"The amount of arrogance stuffed into this tiny person is staggering. He won't serve under Trump because he'll be fired 30 seconds after the inauguration. Plus, he'll be 83. Just slink away, little man," said Boston radio host Gerry Callahan.
"These new Trump 2024 ads really hit," tweeted Washington state congressional candidate Joe Kent.
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