Dr. Anthony Fauci Says New Trump Ads Take His Comments “Out Of Context”

If you watched anything on TV or through the internet this weekend, chances are you’ll have been bombarded by a new set of Pro-Trump ads at some point. One of the more interesting ads focuses on how Trump and America are “recovering” from the Coronavirus pandemic. The ad comes to a sharp end with a clip of Dr. Fauci saying “He couldn’t imagine anyone could be doing more.” The ad itself implies that the Trump administration has done everything possible to help curb the threat of COVID-19. Even before you get to the quote from Dr. Fauci, the ad can be seen as misleading. Largely because America isn’t recovering from the Coronavirus pandemic. In fact, we’re still in the middle of it.

The quote from Dr. Fauci was taken from an interview he did in March while speaking about the coordinated effort of the Coronavirus task force, and NOT Trump specifically. Dr. Fauci criticized the ad, saying that it took his words “out of context.” Dr. Fauci went on to say, “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed nor do I now endorse any political candidates. He concluded, “The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”

They are indeed Dr. Fauci’s own words. We have done a “phenomenal” job, according to certain governors. Many people agree…And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections! https://t.co/ANqKL4eBqJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2020

The Trump campaign has fired back saying that they would continue to run the ads because “These are Dr. Fauci’s words.” It’s an interesting stance to take as Dr. Fauci did indeed say what he said in the ad, but there were definitely liberties taken with WHAT he was talking about when he said them.

The Trump campaign and Trump himself have been known to distort quotes to fit the narrative they were presenting. It’ll be interesting to see how this latest distortion plays out for the Trump camp.