Politics

Trump Breaks With Fauci On Reopening Schools: ‘Totally Disagree,’ ‘Not An Acceptable Answer’

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Justin Caruso Contributor
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President Donald Trump publicly broke with Dr. Anthony Fauci in two different sets of remarks Wednesday, saying that he “totally disagree(s)” with Fauci about reopening schools.

“Anthony is a good person, very good person. I’ve disagreed with him,” Trump said during an interview with “Mornings with Maria,” noting his policy on shutting down China travel.

He then went on to say that schools must reopen, and warned of “bedlam in the streets.”

“I totally disagree with him on schools,” Trump said.

In another set of remarks given to reporters Wednesday in the White House, Trump said that Fauci’s answer on reopening schools was “not an acceptable answer.”

“I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it’s just to me, it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools,” he said.

Trump went on to say that statistics show that older people should be protected, but that with school-age children, the disease is much less severe.

Fauci alarmed many Tuesday during a Senate hearing when he appeared to warn that reopening schools without a vaccine was “a very risky and indeed a dangerous prospect.” He did not fully say that schools can’t reopen, but he did warn that from a public health angle it could present problems. (RELATED: Fauci Agrees US Death Rate Is ‘Unacceptable’ Compared To Other Countries)

The relationship between Trump and Fauci has been a topic of much public speculation. Last month, Trump retweeted a post that included the hashtag #FireFauci.

When asked about his retweet, Trump replied, “I don’t know.”