Dr Anthony Fauci has been caught smirking at President Donald Trump during a coronavirus press conference, further fueling rumors of tension between the pair.
The incident occurred Friday afternoon, while the Commander-in-chief was giving the media an update on the COVID-19 outbreak flanked by members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force team, which includes Dr Fauci.
The highly-respected immunologist looked to roll his eyes and suppress laughter as Trump lashed out at the State Department, describing them as the ‘Deep State department’.
Dr Fauci then placed his hand over his face, in what many described as a ‘face palm’ reaction to Trump’s inflammatory remarks.
Video of the incident was shared across Twitter, with one posting a screencap of the incident and writing: ‘Dr Anthony Fauci is all of us’.
Dr Anthony Fauci has been caught smirking at President Donald Trump during a coronavirus press conference, further fueling rumors of tension between the pair
Video of Dr Anthony Fauci rolling his eyes and smirking at President Trump quickly went viral on Twitter Friday
Meanwhile, another stated: ‘When Dr Fauci touches his face during a pandemic, that’s how you know it’s very, very bad’.
Another anti-Trump supporter added ‘Tony Fauci is fighting a virus on two fronts. Love this man!’
Comedian Trevor Noah even got in on the action, photoshopping the doctor’s face onto a popular GIF from The Simpsons, which shows the character of Homer disappearing into a garden hedge.
‘Dr Fauci every time Trump speaks,’ Noah wrote.
However, one supporter of the President theorized that Dr Fauci appeared too political for his role.
‘Is Fauci a Hillary [Clinton] plant?’ one asked, referencing the fact that the immunologist appeared on CNN to debunk Trump’s recent claims that an anti-malaria drug was a ‘game-changer’ in the fight against coronavirus.
‘Think about this. Trump makes a hopeful statement on hydrochloroquine and Fauci immediately runs to #CNN, Trump’s most hated #FakeNews outlet, to contradict him? That is EXACTLY what a Hillary plant would do,’ they wrote.
However, one supporter of the President theorized that Dr Fauci was appearing a little too political for his role, and accused him of being a Hillary Clinton plant
Dr Fauci (second from right) joined other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force at President Trump’s press conference Friday
In recent weeks, Dr Fauci has garnered a reputation for repeatedly contradicting and rebuking the President’s claims about coronavirus.
On Thursday, Trump told media that there had been positive results after doctors trialled chloroquine on COVID-19 patients, and suggested the drug could be a game-changer.
‘It’s shown very, very encouraging early results. We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately. It’s been approved,’ Trump exclaimed.
But Dr Fauci put a dampener on the President’s excitement just a few hours later, in an appearance on CNN, bluntly stating: ‘There’s no magic drug for coronavirus right now’.
‘Let me put it into perspective for the viewers .. there has been anecdotal non-proven data that it [chloroquine] works… but when you have an uncontrolled trial you can never definitely say that it works’.
Meanwhile, Dr. Facui has been dubbed as ‘the truth teller’ in Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, and has also publicly contradicted the President on a number of other occasions.
In recent weeks, Dr Fauci has garnered a reputation for repeatedly contradicting and rebuking the President’s claims about coronavirus
‘You should never destroy your own credibility. And you don’t want to go to war with a president … But you got to walk the fine balance of making sure you continue to tell the truth,’ he told Politico last week.
Last week, the top doctor stated it would be advisable for Trump to have a coronavirus test after he was in contact with a Brazilian politician who was diagnosed with COVID-19. Trump has previously disputed claims that he needed to get a test.
On March 4, Fauci was forced to publicly contradict Trump about the expediency of a coronavirus vaccine in front of pharmaceutical executives.
Trump publicly pushed for a vaccine ‘within a few months’, before Fauci stated: ‘A vaccine that you make and start testing in a year is not a vaccine that’s deployable.;
Late last month Dr. Fauci denied he had been ‘muzzled’ by the Trump Administration for bluntly discussing the seriousness of the coronavirus.
‘I have never been muzzled ever and I’ve been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan, I’m not being muzzled by this administration,’ Dr. Fauci stated.
Trump similarly stated: ‘He has had that ability to do virtually whatever he’s wanted to do’.