President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx for being too negative about the country’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Pathetic!”
Trump was referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s earlier attacks against Dr. Birx, accusing her of helping the president spread misinformation about the virus.
“I think the president is spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee,” Pelosi told ABC News host Martha Raddatz on Sunday. “So, I don’t have confidence there, no.”
The White House condemned Pelosi’s comments on Sunday.
“It is deeply irresponsible of Speaker Pelosi to repeatedly try to undermine and create public distrust in Dr Birx, the top public health professional on the coronavirus task force,” wrote White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah wrote. “It’s also just wrong. Period. Hard stop.”
During CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Dr. Birx warned of a “new phase” of the virus.
“What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread. It’s into the rural as equal urban areas,” she said.
She also defended her service to the country and her data-based approach on the task force, pushing back against a New York Times story.
“I have never been called Pollyannish, or non-scientific, or non-data-driven,” she said. “And I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives.”
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