President Trump on Tuesday questioned why Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, has a higher approval rating with the public than he does on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s interesting. He’s got a very good approval rating, and I like that. It’s good,” Trump said during a press briefing at the White House. “Because, remember, he’s working for this administration. He’s working with us. We could’ve gotten other people. We could’ve gotten somebody else. It didn’t have to be Dr. Fauci. He’s working with our administration, and for the most part, we’ve done pretty much what he and others … recommended.”
“He’s got this high approval rating, so why don’t I have a high approval rating … with respect to the virus?” Trump wondered aloud.
The president cited the administration’s increased production of masks, gowns, ventilators and other equipment after hospitals and state leaders warned in the early weeks of the pandemic that they were lacking those critical supplies. Trump also highlighted the sheer volume of testing the U.S. has performed, another area where the administration was slow to ramp up.
“It sort of is curious,” Trump said. “A man works for us, with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci and Dr. [Deborah] Birx, also highly thought of, and yet they’re highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That’s all.”
Public polling has consistently shown Fauci, who has worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for roughly four decades, to be among the most trusted voices on the coronavirus. Trump, meanwhile, has gotten low marks for his handling of the pandemic.
A Quinnipiac University poll released July 15 showed 67 percent of respondents do not trust the information Trump provides about the virus, compared with 65 percent who said they do trust the information Fauci delivers.
Source: The Hill
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