Recalling his neutrality, Anthony Fauci denies supporting the re-election of Donald Trump

Anthony Fauci denied, in a statement, having supported Donald Trump for the election. A spot from the president's campaign takes one of his quotes out of context.

Anthony Fauci recalled it on Sunday: he never called to vote for a candidate, and did not do so this year. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a senior member of the White House coronavirus group, protested the use of one of his quotes in a campaign spot for Donald Trump. "I can't imagine anybody can do more," we hear him say in the 30-second video, which praises the White House's response to the pandemic - and this when no plan federal government has not been put in place. Only, the infectious disease specialist corrected: this sentence, resulting from an interview granted last March, welcomed "the efforts of all employees of the federal health system" and not only the American president or his administration. "The comments were attributed to me without my permission," he said.

In the interview given last March to Fox News, Anthony Fauci said: “Everyone is on the bridge. I am a member of the team, I am not alone. From the moment we figured out what it was, I spent most of my time on it. I am in the White House almost every day with the task force. It's every day. So I can't imagine anyone could do more. ”

Not exactly the meaning the Trump campaign wanted to give it. But Donald Trump himself insisted on Twitter, after the doctor's statement: “They are indeed Dr. Fauci’s own words. We have done a “phenomenal” job, according to certain governors. Many people agree...And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections! ", Tweeted the American president, accused by the Democratic governors of having helped the Republican governors more in the fight against Covid-19.

They are indeed Dr. Fauci’s own words. We have done a “phenomenal” job, according to certain governors. Many people agree...And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections! https://t.co/ANqKL4eBqJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2020

In delicacy in the polls

If this may seem anecdotal in the midst of a pandemic which has claimed nearly 215,000 lives in the United States, this exchange between the American president and his main health expert clearly demonstrates a fundamental problem. In recent months, Donald Trump and some members of his entourage have voluntarily put aside, even attacked, Anthony Fauci because he moderated the excess of optimism of the billionaire in the midst of a pandemic, motivated by his concern to see the economy, his main argument. country, suffer from the situation. He has continued to minimize the dangerousness of the virus, even after contracting it, being placed on oxygen and being hospitalized for three nights. “Don't let him dominate you,” he assured. Do not be afraid of it, you will defeat it. We have the best medical equipment, the best drugs, everything has been developed recently. You will defeat him! ” He himself was discharged from the Walter Reed military hospital, where American presidents are treated, and had benefited from an experimental treatment based on stem cells - a practice against which he nevertheless protested in the past in the name of its pro-life policy.

But three weeks before the election, Donald Trump seeks reassurance by presenting himself as supported by a personality appreciated by Republicans and Democrats, who has served under six presidents. According to FiveThiryEight, 40.4% of those polled approve of the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic compared to 56.7% disapproval. A figure that worries because, while the bar of 215,000 deaths caused by Covid-19 is likely to be crossed during the day, the polls give Donald Trump a delay in some key states and even present him in delicacy in some strongholds republicans. According to polls condensed by RealClearPolitics, Joe Biden leads the incumbent president to Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and even Arizona, which has only voted for a Democratic candidate once in over 40 years.