President Donald Trump bemoaned his low approval ratings and compared his popularity to Dr. Anthony Fauci's during a press conference Tuesday, saying 'nobody likes me.'
The president boasted he has a 'very good' relationship with Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and said his high approval rating transfers to the whole Trump administration as they work together to tackle the virus.
Trump was asked about his views on Fauci after he retweeted a message Monday night claiming the doctor misled the public on hydroxychloroquine.
'I get along with him very well and I agree with a lot of what he's said,' Trump insisted.
President Donald Trump bemoaned his low approval ratings and compared his popularity to Dr. Anthony Fauci's during a press conference Tuesday, saying 'nobody likes me'
'So it sort of is curious, a man works for us, with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx also, very highly thought of - and yet, they're highly thought of, but nobody likes me?' Trump said. Fauci pictured above
Trump was asked about his views on Fauci after he retweeted a message (above) Monday night claiming the doctor misled the public on hydroxychloroquine
'It's interesting: he's got a very good approval rating. And I like that, it's good. Because remember: he's working for this administration. He's working with us...He's working with our administration. And for the most part we've done what he and others - and Dr. Birx and others - have recommended,' he said.
Trump then turned the tables and compared to his own popularity amid criticism over his handling of the pandemic, which has infected more than 4.3million in the US and killed more than 149,000.
'And he's got this high approval rating. So why don't I have a high approval rating with respect - and the administration - with respect to the virus? We should have it very high,' Trump reasoned.
'So it sort of is curious, a man works for us, with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx also, very highly thought of --and yet, they're highly thought of, but nobody likes me?
'It can only be my personality, that's all,' the president said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed Trump's Monday night Twitter spree where he praised hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19, contrary to medical research, and said Fauci 'misled' the country on the drug. On Tuesday morning Fauci said he doesn't tweet or read the president's posts. 'I don't know how to address that,' Fauci said
Trump came under fire following his Twitter spree Monday night where he retweeted a slew of posts praising anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.
He was also slammed for retweeting twice a video of Dr. Stella Immanuel who claimed that hydroxychloroquine is a 'cure' for coronavirus, but her clips were removed by Twitter for coronavirus misinformation.
Donald Trump Jr also shared video of her speech and his account was suspended.
Dr. Immanuel has a long history of supporting conspiracy theories and Trump ended his Tuesday press conference when pressed about his own retweets of her claims.
She received a medical license in Texas in November, according to state records.
On Tuesday morning Fauci dismissed Trump's Monday night Twitter rant, which included his post of Dr. Immanuel's speech along with criticism of Fauci.
'I don't know how to address that,' the nation's top immunologist told Good Morning America regarding the president's tweet storm. 'I'm just going to, certainly, continue doing my job.'
'I, you know, I don't tweet, I don't – I don't even read them,' Fauci, 79, told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos. 'So I don't really want to go there.'
President Trump defended Dr. Stella Immanuel, who has a long history of promoting conspiracy theories and who claims hydroxy cures coronavirus. She received a medical license in Texas in November, according to state records
Trump retweeted two videos of Dr. Stella Immanuel speaking in front of the US Capitol on Friday with others calling themselves 'America's Frontline Doctors'. She claimed anti-malaria drug hydroxycloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19, despite other medical research disproving that
Immanuel demanded that the videos be reposted on social media Tuesday night
'She was on air along with many other doctors,' Trump said during the Tuesday press conference, when asked about his retweet of Dr. Immanuel's speech.
'They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. And I thought she was very impressive in the sense that from where she came - I don't know which country she comes from - but she says she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients and I thought her voice was an important voice but I know nothing about her.'
The president was being pressed by claims Immanuel has made that include face masks not working in combating COVID-19, alien DNA being used in prescriptions, and that the medical community is trying to make a vaccine to make a person immune to religion.
Trump ended the matter by saying 'thank you very much' and leaving the podium.
In May the World Health Organization stopped its hydroxychloroquine trial. The National Institutes for Health similarly halted their trial in June after determining it provided 'no benefit' in the patients studied.
Trump admitted in May he was on a two-week course of the drug as part of a regime to combat the coronavirus.
He said on Tuesday that 'many doctors' think hydroxy is successful.
'Many doctors think it is extremely successful,' he said. 'The hydroxychloroquine coupled with the z-pack. And some some people think it's become political. I took it for a 14-day period. And I'm here. I think it works in the early stages. I think front line medical people believe that too. Some. Many. So we'll take a look at it.'
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