CNN analyst Gloria Borger said Wednesday that President Donald Trump appeared to be like “the executioner” standing beside experts as they spoke to the press.
Borger made an the comment in response to the latest coronavirus task force briefing, during which CDC Director Robert Redfield clarified his statements from a Washington Post article about whether or not fall and winter might bring a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
WATCH:
Anchor Anderson Cooper began by noting that this was not the first time that one of the task force experts had clarified a statement during one of their regular briefings. “So last week it was Dr. Fauci after he told Jake Tapper that mitigation could save lives. Tonight it was Dr. Redfield. What do you make of this pattern?” Cooper asked. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: CNN’s Anderson Cooper Told Viewers To ‘Be More Concerned About The Flu’ Than Coronavirus)
“I think it’s a disgusting pattern honestly. These are professionals who choose their words carefully,” Borger replied. “And, you know, if you looked at the picture tonight of Dr. Redfield standing up there and the president standing to his side, looking like the executioner who could chop off his head at any time and fire him if he wanted to. And we know the president can do that.”
Borger went on to say that Dr. Redfield had certainly couched his words carefully, but he had effectively confirmed the substance of his quoted remarks — that there could be a resurgence of the virus in the fall or winter.
“I would argue that Tony Fauci did exactly the same thing when he stood up there,” Borger continued. “And I think perhaps the reason they all still have their jobs, because the president would probably like to get rid of anyone who disagrees with him or challenges him or gets him in trouble with the public, is that he looks at the polls and he understands that the scientists are trusted more by the American public than he is. And so he needs them right now. He needs them in his corner as angry as it might make him. It would be very difficult for him to get rid of them.”