Former President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday that he had no right to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, but clarified that the White House COVID czar was not a “major player” in his administration during the pandemic.
“The biggest blow to your presidency is that you kept Dr. Fauci,” conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked the former president. “Why did you stay with Dr. Fauci?”
“First of all, you are not allowed. He is a public official and you are not allowed to fire him,” Trump, 77, responded.
“But forget it, because I don’t necessarily go by everything. But Dr. Fauci told me things and I didn’t do them, in many cases. But he was not a major player in my administration either.”
The former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Trump and Biden pushed aggressive masking and social distancing mandates in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Dr. Fauci became a major player in the Biden administration. He is a very important player in the Biden administration,” Trump told Hewitt, adding that the White House’s top medical adviser “was a radical non-masker.” ” which “became a super radical masker” over time.
Former President Donald Trump said in an interview Wednesday that he had no right to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, but added that the White House COVID czar was not a “major player” in his administration during the pandemic.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running a distant second to Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, has frequently criticized the former president for his decision to keep the White House COVID czar on board.Getty Images
However, at a rally in Florida days before votes were cast in 2020, the former president floated the idea that he would let Fauci go after winning re-election.
“Don’t tell anyone, but let me wait until a bit after the election. I appreciate the advice,” Trump told the crowd, chanting: “Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci!”
The doctor was also part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” effort to accelerate COVID vaccinations.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running a distant second to Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, has frequently criticized the former president for keeping Fauci.AFP via Getty Images
Fauci was not a political appointee by the Trump administration, which would have made his firing difficult, but federal civil service employees can be fired for misconduct or unacceptable performance.
If he were fired, Fauci would also have been able to appeal the decision to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which litigates these matters.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running a distant second to Trump in the 2024 Republican primary, has frequently criticized the former president for his decision to keep Fauci on board.
“The biggest blow to your presidency is that you kept Dr. Fauci,” conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt told Trump. AFP via Getty Images
During the first Republican presidential debate last month, DeSantis, 44, declared that he would have fired Fauci if he had been in office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[W]When Ron DeSantis says on the debate stage that you didn’t fire Fauci and shut down the country and that was a mistake, how will you respond? Hewitt asked Trump.
“He said he wouldn’t let anyone in. He closed his beaches. He shut down the whole state,” Trump said, adding that he would later share five or six articles on “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “how much he loves Dr. Fauci.”
Fauci was not a political appointee by the Trump administration, which would have made his firing difficult, but federal civil service employees can be fired for misconduct or unacceptable performance.REUTERS
The articles, which the Trump campaign has shared widely, refer to DeSantis’ praise of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the early weeks of the pandemic, saying its members, including Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx and former Vice President Mike Pence, were “I’m really doing a good job.”
Trump also singled out South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem during the interview for having implemented better COVID policies than DeSantis.
Florida rescinded its stay-at-home order before South Carolina in 2020. South Dakota has never issued statewide COVID mandates.
The former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under Trump and President Biden pushed aggressive masking and social distancing mandates in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Matt Baron/EIB/Shutterstock
DeSantis also suspended local COVID-19 emergency orders and signed a law to ban future mask mandates and social distancing measures ahead of McMaster in 2021.
The governor of South Carolina lifted his state’s emergency declaration a few weeks before the governor of Florida in June 2021.
Trump also criticized DeSantis for presiding over the third-worst COVID-19 death rate.
The Trump campaign shared articles this week showing DeSantis’ praise of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the early weeks of the pandemic.UPI
“And by the way, just so you know, it sounds very negative, third place in COVID deaths? Unfortunately Florida,” she said. “Florida ranked third in deaths. So, Ron, and that’s a horrible statistic, but it’s a statistic that counts in a way.”
South Carolina and South Dakota also had worse death rates than Florida in 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2021, the Palmetto State had the 10th worst death rate, the Sunshine State had the 18th worst death rate, and the Mount Rushmore State had the 37th worst death rate.
Florida had the fourth and third highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Its population is about 21 million, while South Carolina has about 5 million residents and South Dakota has less than 1 million.
DeSantis allies on Thursday rejected the former president’s characterization of Florida’s COVID mandates. post a letter online that the Trump White House Coronavirus Task Force sent to the governor requesting more mask mandates and social distancing.
Florida did not comply with the request.
DeSantis is nearly 38 percentage points behind Trump in the latest RealClearPolitics national polling average.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn