Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he agreed with Fox News host Dana Perino’s criticism of his interview with The New York Times, saying that he no longer wanted to “rehash” his time working for former President Donald Trump.
Fauci appeared on “America’s Newsroom” and was asked by Perino if there was “a law of diminishing returns” for him to keep answering questions about the Trump administration with the virus being as “acute” as it is. (RELATED: Dr. Fauci Was Among Highest-Paid Federal Officials In 2019 — He Banked More Than President Trump’s $400,000)
“I agree with you, Dana. And really, after that interview I said to myself we really have got to look forward and ahead and just put that behind us. I totally agree with you,” Fauci answered. “So, looking forward I’m really not enthusiastic at all about re-examining what happened back then rather than looking forward to what we need to do now.”
Fauci participated in The New York Times interview on Jan. 24 and spent a majority of the interview answering questions about working for Trump. He did not mention his desire to move away from that conversation at any point during the interview.
“I heard a lot of interviews of you over the weekend. It just seems like there’s this aggressiveness toward the Trump administration,” host Bill Hemmer chimed in. “You are the most respected man in America on this topic. Why do you even feel the obligation to answer these questions? And by the way, when you were at the White House, no one prevented you from talking, did they?”
Fauci’s claim that he wants to avoid talking about the past also runs contrary to other recent interviews he’s taken part in, including his appearance on the Jan. 22 broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Fauci told host Rachel Maddow that he had been wanting to go on her show for months, but criticized the Trump administration for not allowing him to do so. He also stated in a recent White House press briefing that it felt “liberating” working for President Joe Biden.
Fauci to @Maddow: “I’ve been wanting to come on your show for months and months. You’ve been asking me to come on your show for months and months… It just got blocked, because they didn’t like the way you handled things.” He says things are better now. pic.twitter.com/ZHEYBzlBjk
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 23, 2021
Fauci responded to Hemmer’s question saying he was not prevented from talking, but that’s what got him in trouble. Hemmer followed by asking, “What do you mean?”
“Well they weren’t happy about some of the things that I said. And, here again we’re getting into rehashing it again. I think we should do what Dana just suggested, mainly put that behind us and take a look at the problems we have ahead,” Fauci concluded.
