Dr. Anthony Fauci said he did not approve of being used in a new ad put out by the Trump campaign that edits comments he made about the efforts of federal health officials to make it sound like he was praising President Trump.
The ad, which was released on Saturday, touts Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Fauci being quoted saying, “I can’t imagine that … anybody could be doing any more.”
Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and a national expert in infectious diseases, told CNN his comments were edited and used without his permission.
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate,” Fauci said. “The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”
Trump’s ad aired shortly after the president announced he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 last week, which was noted by the narrator.
“President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America,” the ad’s narrator says. “Together, we rose to meet the challenge, protecting our seniors, getting them lifesaving drugs in record time, sparing no expense.”
Fauci’s original comment spoke broadly about the overall efforts of the coordinated response of federal health officials, rather than a single individual, but Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told Axios he didn’t believe they were inaccurate.
“The video is from a nationally broadcast television interview in which Dr. Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration,” Murtaugh said. “The words spoken are accurate, and directly from Dr. Fauci’s mouth.”
Since he contracted the virus, the president expressed feeling in good health in recent days, claiming on Sunday that he may even be “immune” from COVID-19, though that has not been confirmed by any medical experts.
