The editor in chief of a top medical journal asked one of the biggest questions to top coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci: How does he handle it when the president says something that isn't scientifically accurate?
The question was asked as was part of an interview by the Journal of the American Medical Association Editor Howard Bacuhner, M.D., with Fauci, M.D., who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading figure on the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
During daily briefings with Trump, statements by the president such as about the yet-untested promise of anti-viral drugs like chloroquine, the speed with which a new vaccine could be developed or the timing for the end of social distancing have notably been walked back by Fauci and other key experts.
"When he says things that are interesting to you or, you’re thinking not consistent with how I think of science or medicine or clinical research, how do you process it?" Bauchner asked Fauci.
Fauci responded diplomatically.
"Well I mean obviously as a scientist, it’s kind of tough when you hear things that don’t fit in with the scientific medicine," Fauci said. "But in fairness to him, after it’s over, I get an opportunity to go back in a non-confrontative way, discuss it with him. He has his own style. There are many many people in the United States who like that style, the way he does things."
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