Fauci defends Deborah Birx and explains why 'I am very, very reluctant to condemn' anything she did
In CNN's "autopsy" on the failures of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci explained that during the hardest moments in the pandemic, he was in a better position to be a "bad cop" than Dr. Deborah Birx.
"They referred to me as I would often say the skunk at the picnic," Fauci joked about his briefings. "Every time they say things were great, I said, 'Ehh, I don't think so."
He explained that the two had worked together on the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and made it seem as if the two decided that Fauci would be the "bad cop" and Birx would play the role as the "good cop."
"It was easy for me to say that out loud and openly say that I had my base. My base was the NIH," said Fauci. "Deb had a much more difficult situation. She had an office right there in the West Wing. So, I am very, very reluctant to condemn anything that even though people felt she should push more, she did a lot of good. She knocked herself out, getting up at 3:00 in the morning and putting that data together and presenting it every day."
Birx explained to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta that when officials appeared before the House or Senate she wanted them to have the most up-to-date data on the pandemic so that officials could understand the gravity of the situation.
Gupta noted that former President Donald Trump's White House had a very anti-science perspective and it put doctors and other scientists in an awkward position.
"You know, I have dealt with presidents and prime ministers around the globe who will often have misconceptions about diseases and the community that disease impacts," Dr. Birx explained. "I have always found that if you can find that common ground with the information and data, they'll change policies."
That might explain why she was so complimentary about Trump on Fox News during the crisis, particularly while playing the role of the "good cop."
Birx was being spied on by the Trump White House while also being inundated with threats to her and her family.
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