The doctors who sit on the White House's coronavirus taskforce are being kept off television, with some experts not doing TV interview...
The doctors who sit on the White House's coronavirus taskforce are being kept off television, with some experts not doing TV interviews for nearly a month, as President Donald Trump tries to shift his messaging from public health to 'reopening' the economy.
CNN reported on that trend after finding that the two most prominent members - Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx - hadn't been on the airwaves in over a week.
The other three prominent doctors haven't been interviewed by anchors since April.
CNN's Oliver Darcy found that Birx was the last doctor to appear in a television interview.
She participated in a CNN town hall on May 7.
Fauci also made his last appearance on the network. He was interviewed by CNN's Chris Cuomo on May 4.
Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, last appeared on Fox News on April 28. He was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo.
The top doctors on President Trump's (pictured) coronavirus taskforce are spending less time on TV, with the two most prominent members - Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx - not hitting the airwaves in more than a week, other members nearly a month
Dr. Anthony Fauci's last television interview was with CNN's Chris Cuomo on May 4, more than a week ago, while Dr. Deborah Birx's (right) last appearance on television was for a CNN town hall more than a week ago, alongside Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta
Dr. Robert Redfield's (left) last television interview was nearly a month ago. He appeared on the 'Today Show' on April 17 with Susannah Guthrie. Dr. Stephen Hahn (center), the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, last appeared on Fox Business Network on April 28; Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General, last appeared on April 17. He did a segment on 'Fox & Friends'
And both the Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, and Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, haven't done an interview since April 17.
This isn't to say that the doctors haven't gotten some screentime.
Fauci, Hahn and Redfield - who spent several days working from home after coming into contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for COVID-19 - all testified before the Senate on Tuesday.
Adm. Brett Giroir, who's the point person on COVID-19 testing, also beamed into the Senate hearing from his office and testified.
Birx sat alongside Trump in his meeting with the governors from North Dakota and Colorado on Wednesday, which was an opportunity for reporters to ask questions.
But the White House has made a concerted effort to change the messaging from health to the economy.
The president is now holding fewer daily press briefings after members of his inner circle, including his campaign manager Brad Parscale, informed him the rollicking back-and-forths were hurting him with swing voters.
His only briefing this week was on Monday.
He's allowed new press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to become the face of the administration too, as she held a briefing Tuesday and is scheduled to brief reporters later Friday afternoon.
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