WASHINGTON – Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the country’s leading public health experts, has signaled that he feels free to speak honestly about Covid-19 now that former President Donald Trump is out of office.
At his first press conference since President Joe Biden took office, Fauci said the new government was committed to being “completely transparent, open and honest”.
“One of the novelties of this government is that, if you don’t know the answer, don’t guess. Suffice it to say that you don’t know the answer, ”said Fauci.
“It’s a somewhat liberating feeling,” Fauci said on Thursday of the operation under the Biden government, adding that his commitment to transparency as a public health official often got him in trouble under the Trump administration.
Fauci helped lead the country’s response to the coronavirus when the pandemic first hit almost a year ago, working alongside Trump and members of his White House coronavirus task force. But the relationship was difficult.
Trump was criticized for spreading false or misleading information about the pandemic, often contradicting warnings from Fauci and other experts that the situation was dire and needed to be taken seriously. Often, he refused to wear a mask and, in the end, contracted the virus on his own.
There was frequent speculation that Trump would fire Fauci for contradicting him.
Fauci said that just 15 minutes before the press conference he met with Biden and discussed how “everything we do will be based on science and evidence”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Facui and other public health officials will make more regular appearances in the meeting room to discuss the coronavirus after the Trump administration refused to inform the public in the final months of his presidency. .
