Sunday, during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the “reality” was that federal assistance for fighting the coronavirus pandemic would not depend on governors being “appreciative.”
In a clip from Friday during the coronavirus press conference, Trump said, “When they’re not appreciative to me, they’re not appreciative to the Army Corps, they’re not appreciative to FEMA, it’s not right…I said, Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington, you’re wasting your time with him, don’t call the woman in Michigan … You know what I say, if they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Dr. Fauci, can you assure the American people that whether or not they get the help they need from the federal government does not depend on whether their governors are appreciative enough of the federal help or flattering enough of the Trump administration?”
Fauci said, “No Jake, I think the reality, not the rhetoric but the reality is that the people who need things will get what they need. There’s a reality and a rhetoric.”
He added, “I mean I know the spirit of the task force and when we talk about when people need things, doesn’t matter who they are. We try to get them what they need.”
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