White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he is “absolutely not” surprised President Donald Trump got COVID-19.
Fauci spoke on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” where he was asked by the network’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook about Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis. LaPook specifically asked whether Fauci was “surprised that President Trump got sick.”
“Absolutely not,” Fauci replied. “I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask.”
WATCH:
Dr. Fauci says he was “absolutely not” surprised that President Trump got sick with coronavirus after seeing POTUS at what “turned out to be a super-spreader event” at the White House. https://t.co/Iq75GoCErk pic.twitter.com/iDWEaoX582
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 18, 2020
Fauci was speaking about a White House Rose Garden event held shortly before the president announced he tested positive for COVID-19. The event was held for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
“When I saw that on TV, I said, ‘Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come out of that, that’s got to be a problem,'” Fauci added. “And then sure enough, it turned out to be a super-spreader event.”
Trump was transported to the Walter Reed Military Medical Center following his positive diagnosis. He was discharged after a few days and returned to the White House, where he would later test negative for the virus. (RELATED: Barron Trump Had COVID-19 But Didn’t Suffer Symptoms, First Lady Says)