Trump Discusses Fauci’s Senate Hearing

WASHINGTON—On Wednesday, President Donald Trump mentioned that he watched Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He expressed his frequent disagreements with Fauci, noting that he was “never a big fan” of him.

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office after the hearing, Trump highlighted how Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during his statements, despite receiving a pardon from former President Joe Biden.

“Well, I’ve seen it all today, but more importantly…I inherited Mr. Fauci. He’s been here since the 1980s. I accepted him at one point, but there were many disagreements. If I had listened to him, we would have had to shut down the entire country,” Trump reflected, looking back at his presidency during the pandemic.

“I basically took the federalist approach, leaving decisions to the governors. Generally, Republican governors performed better while Democratic governors did not fare as well,” he added.

Trump characterized Fauci as “not a big factor” for him, while asserting that he was “a key factor” for Biden.

“But you might remember, Mr. Fauci wanted no one to wear a mask, and then it was five masks, as many as possible. He made plenty of mistakes, but he wasn’t a significant factor for me. He was a huge factor for Biden,” Trump stated.

He pointed out that even during the height of the pandemic, there were fewer deaths under his administration compared to Biden’s. “We managed better,” he claimed.

Trump also highlighted “Operation Warp Speed,” which aimed to accelerate the rollout of coronavirus vaccines. “Operation Warp Speed was recognized globally as one of the great success stories. We did a good job. However, more people died from COVID-19 under the Biden administration than during mine. COVID-19 was a disaster, and Fauci didn’t help,” he asserted.

When asked by Breitbart News why Fauci had invoked the Fifth Amendment despite his pardon, Trump suggested that Fauci’s lawyers had advised him to do so. “Look, I was never a big fan of Mr. Fauci. The reason he did that is simple: his lawyer told him to. I don’t know if he would have been better off not doing it. There were many questions he could have answered, and some he might not have felt comfortable addressing. But his lawyer told him to do it,” he explained.