Dr. Anthony Fauci said that former President Trump was a 'pretty macho guy' when it came to him not wanting to be seen wea...
Dr. Anthony Fauci said that former President Trump was a 'pretty macho guy' when it came to him not wanting to be seen wearing a mask, adding that it was 'unfortunate' that so many Americans were inspired by that position.
Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease official, was commenting on how difficult it was to convey the importance of masks to the at-the-time president.
'It's really tough to get into his head, but I think what was going on with him is he was not interested in the outbreak,' he explained to The Atlantic. 'The outbreak to him was an inconvenient truth that he didn't accept as a truth. It's something that got in the way of what he really wanted to do.'
Dr. Anthony Fauci described Trump as being a 'pretty macho guy' for his reasoning as to why the former president was hardly seen in a mask
'He's a pretty macho guy. It's almost like it diminishes one's manhood to wear a mask. To him, a mask was a sign of weakness,' Fauci said. 'The unfortunate aspect of this is that a lot of people in the country took that on as a mantra. That's the problem'
He continued: 'He's a pretty macho guy. It's almost like it diminishes one's manhood to wear a mask. To him, a mask was a sign of weakness. The unfortunate aspect of this is that a lot of people in the country took that on as a mantra. That's the problem.'
Fauci's comments come as he shot back at sentiments he was moving the goalpost after he expressed that it was 'common sense' to wear two masks in hopes of better preventing the virus instead of one.
'So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective. That's the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95,' Fauci said last week, the Daily Beast reported.
Fauci's comments come as he shot back at sentiments he was moving the goalpost after he expressed that it was 'common sense' to wear two masks i
But during a Tuesday appearance with Fox News, host Sandra Smith told Fauci that it appeared that the 'goalposts' for masks 'keep moving.'
'Dr. Fauci, seems like the goalposts keep moving,' Smith stated.
She continued: 'All of us are trying to do what it takes to stay safe. We're all wearing our masks and hope that most people are. Now we're hearing we should wear two? If I go to the grocery store, do I wear two, do I wear three? Is it safer to wear eight? Where does it stop?!'
Fauci retorted: 'Discussion is changing, not the goalposts.'
He added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was not officially telling people to wear two masks.
'Discussion is changing, not the goalposts,' Fauci said to Fox News host Sandra Smith after she claimed the goalpost keeps moving' in relation to masks
Outgoing US President Donald Trump waves after landing at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 20
'What they're saying is, "You know what would be a good start? If everybody wears at least one mask,"' he added. 'I think that would be important. So the CDC recommendations have not changed. What we're trying to do is to get individuals that are not wearing masks to wear masks.'
Just yesterday, Fauci said he was he's ready to put his rocky relationship with Donald Trump 'behind' him, admitting he's no longer interested in 're-examining' what happened in the past.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Fauci was asked about the media's fixation with his clashes with Trump and whether he felt compelled to continue addressing such matters as the pandemic continues to grip the country.
Host Dana Perino referenced Fauci's recent interview with New York Times podcast The Daily in particular, which she noted was mostly focused on his turbulent relationship with the president rather than the pandemic.
'You are very willing to answer a lot of those questions and I know those questions are irresistible for reporters to ask, but is there a law of diminishing returns to continue to answer questions about that relationship if the crisis is as acute as you say?' Perino asked.
'I agree with you, Dana,' Fauci replied candidly. 'After that interview, I said to myself we really got to look forward and ahead and just put that behind us. I totally agree with you.'
'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.'
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