Former President Donald Trump on Monday slammed a pair of top health officials from his administration, saying Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx are “self-promoters” trying to “reinvent history” regarding his coronavirus response.
Mr. Trump said he could no longer stay silent as Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx peddled lies about his response.
“They had bad policy decisions that would have left our country open to China and others, closed to reopening our economy, and years away from an approved vaccine — putting millions of lives at risk,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Trump took credit for developing a coronavirus vaccine in “record time” and said Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx were far too cautious.
“Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx moved far too slowly, and if it were up to them we’d currently be locked in our basements as our country suffered through a financial depression,” he said. “Families, and children in particular, would be suffering the mental strains of this disaster like never before.”
Mr. Trump said Dr. Fauci “fought me hard” on his China travel ban and has sent mixed messages on masks.
Mr. Trump also questioned Dr. Fauci’s claim that he was a college athlete by highlighting the embarrassing first pitch he threw on opening day last year.
Turning to Dr. Birx, Mr. Trump described her as a “proven liar with very little credibility left” and said she dabbled in “‘pseudo-science.’”
“Dr. Birx was a terrible medical advisor, which is why I seldom followed her advice,” he said. “I only kept Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx on because they worked for the U.S. government for so long — they are like a bad habit!”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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