Trump blasts Birx after she warns coronavirus
pandemic is 'extraordinarily widespread'
Trump’s attack comes after top White House officials
admonished House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for undermining trust in Birx.
By MAX
COHEN
08/03/2020
10:37 AM EDT
Updated:
08/03/2020 07:01 PM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trump-blasts-birx-after-coronavirus-claims-390881
President
Donald Trump on Monday slammed White House coronavirus task force coordinator
Deborah Birx after the public health official said the pandemic was
“extraordinarily widespread.”
Trump’s
attack comes shortly after top White House officials admonished House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi for undermining trust in Birx.
“So Crazy
Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her
because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting
the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!”
Past
reporting by The New York Times presented Birx as a coronavirus optimist who
told Trump that the United States was on its way to flattening its curve like
Italy and that outbreaks were easing.
Yet on
Sunday, Birx struck a more somber tone when she said the pandemic was entering
a new, dangerous phase.
"What
we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily
widespread," Birx told CNN, adding that the pandemic was affecting both
urban and rural areas.
Trump’s
public attack on Birx was at odds with recent messaging from his top
spokespeople, who fiercely defended Birx days ago following Pelosi’s criticism.
“It is
deeply irresponsible of Speaker Pelosi to repeatedly try to undermine &
create public distrust in Dr Birx, the top public health professional on the
coronavirus task force,” White House Director of Strategic Communications
Alyssa Farah wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “It’s also just wrong. Period. Hard
stop.”
“Dr. Birx
is one of the smartest, honest, most talented professionals I’ve ever worked
with. The baseless, political attacks against her and her long record of saving
lives and protecting public health are disgusting and shameful,” White House
deputy press secretary Judd Deere wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
And
following The New York Times article that featured Birx’s role in the White
House, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany ended her July 21 press
briefing with a strong backing of the doctor.
“Dr. Birx
is an extraordinary doctor who’s served this country, dedicated her time to
serving our country as an Army colonel,” McEnany said. “And it is appalling the
attack that I saw on her in the New York Times, based on no facts.”
Trump did
shift his tone during his daily coronavirus news briefing at the White House
later on Monday, saying that Birx is “a person I have a lot of respect for.“ He
also said Pelosi was “very nasty“ toward Birx.
But even
though he was asked specifically about his view on Birx, he largely shifted
praise toward the administration as a whole.
Speaking at
the White House later Monday afternoon, Trump again split with scientists on
his coronavirus task force by endorsing the use of hydroxychloroquine. When
asked why he still supports the drug despite pushback from task force members
Anthony Fauci and Adm. Brett Giroir, Trump took the opportunity to distance
himself from Fauci.
“I don't
agree with Fauci on everything,” Trump said, citing Fauci’s earlier resistance
to mask-wearing and banning travelers from China. “It doesn't mean he's a bad
person, because he's not. He's a good person, I like him. But we disagree on
things.”
Fauci
listed the quick closure of America’s borders from China and the European Union
as one of the great successes of the country’s coronavirus response, during a
Monday interview with The Journal of the American Medical Association.
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