Fauci clarifies virus comments which upset Trump

Speaking at Monday's coronavirus breifling a the White House, the nation's nation’s top infectious diseases expert sought to explain comments he made over the weekend which appeared to upset President Donald Trump because they lent to the criticism that Trump was slow to respond to the pandemic

This comes after comments Dr. Anthony Fauci, made Sunday on CNN if acting earlier could have saved lives, Fauci said that, "obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated.”

President Donald Trump responded by reposting a tweet that referenced Fauci’s comments and included the line, “Time to #FireFauci," raising alarms that Trump might consider trying to oust the doctor.

Fauci, 79, has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations and has emerged as one of the most recognizable and trusted faces of the federal government’s response.

Trump has complained to aides and confidants about Fauci's positive media attention and his willingness to contradict the president in interviews and from the briefing room stage, according to two Republicans close to the White House. But he was not considering firing Fauci as of Monday, according to a senior administration official. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal conversations.

“This media chatter is ridiculous - President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Trump has told aides that he knows blowback to removing Fauci would be fierce and that - at least for now - he is stuck with the doctor. He has, on more than one occasion, however, urged that Fauci be left out of task force briefings or have his speaking role curtailed, according to the Republicans.