Fauci compares the covid-19 with the "Spanish influenza" 0:59
(CNN) –– Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious diseases in the United States, said Tuesday that he considers himself “more realistic than alarmist”, after President Donald Trump pointed out this Sunday to be “a little alarmist ”, even when the coronavirus pandemic worsens in the country.
“Well, I mean, people have their say about my reaction to things. I consider myself more realistic than alarmist, "Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper on" The Lead "when asked about Trump's rating.
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"But, you know, people have their own opinions on top of that. I have always considered myself realistic when it comes to this, ”he added.
Fauci's comments come after a tense period with the president, during which the White House made a concerted effort to discredit him as Fauci increasingly voiced concerns about the country's reopening amid a surge in cases of coronavirus nationwide.
Earlier this month, a White House official told CNN that "multiple White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong about things." The official provided a long list of examples, citing Fauci's comments at the beginning of the pandemic and leading to previous interviews.
Those points, which resembled an investigation into a political opponent, included the time at the start of the virus when Fauci played it down and also a March quote when the expert noted: "People shouldn't be walking in masks," among other comments. .
However, Trump later said he has a "very good" relationship with Fauci.
Despite these words from the president about his relationship with the expert, Trump did not invite Fauci to the White House briefing on the pandemic scheduled for Tuesday night. Fauci pointed out to Tapper that he was not asked to attend.
"I was not invited," Fauci noted just under an hour before Trump's briefing began. "Up to this point, I guess I'm not going to be there," he completed.
Fauci added the last time he spoke to Trump about the pandemic was late last week and did not report it before Tuesday's briefing.
After Trump largely adopted a strategy of ignoring the pandemic in recent weeks - and as his poll numbers continued to decline - the president announced Monday that he would resume public briefings despite suspending them in April and declare them a waste of time.
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Trump is expected to lead the sessions several times a week. But a White House official stressed that the president's upcoming press conferences should not be seen as a return to briefings by the White House task force that stopped earlier this year.
The president may or may not have health experts with him when he conducts the briefings and will definitely cover other topics, the official said. As a result, White House attendees decided to call it a press conference instead of a coronavirus task force briefing.
And although Trump told attendees that he planned to receive questions, the official detailed that it is unclear how many he will answer, leaving open the possibility that he would use these sessions to voice his complaints and attack his political opponents as he has recently done on calls. "Press conferences"
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Tuesday's briefing also coincides with a push by the Trump administration to reopen schools this fall.
Fauci assured that he has not specifically spoken with Trump or with the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, about the reopening of the schools, but that the issue has come up in the meetings of the coronavirus working group.
"In general, when I think about that, I want to look at 40,000 feet and say that, as a fundamental principle, I agree that we should try our best to get children back to school," said Fauci. "Because of the well-documented side effects, you know, that are negative for parents and children when you keep them out of school," he added.
CNN's Jim Acosta, Kaitlan Collins, and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
Anthony Faucicovid-19 Donald Trump Pandemic