(Bloomberg) -- Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, says he was taken out of context in a new campaign advertisement that praises President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials,” Fauci said in a statement.
Trump responded on Twitter that the favorable comments “are indeed Dr. Fauci's own words,” adding that “many people agree.....And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections!”
The advertisement was released by the Trump campaign last week, after the president was discharged from Walter Reed hospital following treatment for complications from the virus.
The ad includes a brief clip of Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, saying, “I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.” Fauci's comment was made during an interview in March with Fox News. The date of his remarks is not noted in the ad.
“In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate,” Fauci, 79, said in his statement.
CNN, which first reported on Fauci's concern about how has comments had been used, said the 30-second spot has aired in Michigan, a battleground state where Trump is trailing in most opinion polls.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in an emailed statement that the comments in the ad “are Dr. Fauci's own words. The video is from a nationally broadcast television interview in which Dr. Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration. The words spoken are accurate, and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth.”
The campaign also sent a press release featuring hand-picked quotes from Fauci paired with comments from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticizing the administration's Covid-19 response.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
