Fauci on his strained relationship with Trump and the attacks he faced

Geoff Bennett:

Now part two of our conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Last night we talked about his experiences leading the country through two of the greatest health crises of our time, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

Tonight, he continues to discuss his strained relationship with former President Trump, the partisan attacks he faced that evolved into real threats, and how he views his own legacy after a nearly sixty-year career, all chronicled in his new memoir, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.”

What was your behind-the-scenes relationship with President Trump?

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to President Biden: “Well, I described it pretty extensively in the book.”

It was really – it was complicated because when we first met, we had a really good rapport. You know, I would describe it like this: Maybe it was like there was a guy who grew up in Queens and a guy who grew up in Brooklyn. We had this similar New York demeanor, whatever you want to call it, that we associated with each other.

In the beginning, he actually listened to us and agreed. But when it became clear that the virus was not going to go away and that it would not peak in February like the flu and disappear in March and April, and when we were getting ready for the elections, we started to go our separate ways because that’s when I had to disagree with him, which was painful for me.

The White House staff thought I was doing it because I wanted to accomplish something – not at all. I was uncomfortable doing it. But then my opinion changed from, “Hey, we’re close friends” to, “That guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s mostly wrong” and things like that.

So it actually started off as a pretty good relationship.