Dr. Anthony Fauci says he isn’t bothered by President Trump’s harsh tweets about him—because he doesn’t look at them. Trump went on an full-scale Twitter rampage Monday night, retweeting a string of false claims about the coronavirus pandemic and how to control it. One of the presidential retweets included a claim from a podcast hosted by the former White House adviser Steve Bannon that Fauci “misled the American public on many issues.” Asked how the president’s apparent endorsement of that view made him feel, Fauci said in an appearance on Good Morning America: “I don’t tweet, I don’t even read them. I don’t really want to go there. I just will continue to do my job, no matter what comes out, because I think it’s very important.” Pressed again on the claim he has misled the public, he said: “I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.” The nation’s top infectious-diseases expert was also forced to hit back against Trump’s endorsement of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, saying that there’s “overwhelming” evidence that it’s not effective against the highly contagious COVID-19.
