In a recent interview on SiriusXM, Megyn Kelly grilled former President Donald Trump over his decision not to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead award him with a Presidential Commendation.
During her interview with the former president, Kelly discussed Trump’s previously stated reasons for not firing Fauci during the pandemic. Kelly noted that Trump has argued that he did not fire Fauci since the doctor had been in his position for such a long time, that firing Fauci would have resulted in additional backlash against him and that firing Fauci would have created “a firestorm.”
Kelly also mentioned that Trump more recently claimed that he could not technically fire Fauci due to his position as a civil servant.
Despite Trump interjecting that he “didn’t listen to him too much,” Kelly stated, “The truth is, though, not only did you not fire Fauci, who is loathed by many — millions of Republicans in particular, but also some Democrats — you made him a star.”
“This is the criticism of you, that you made him the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force,” Kelly continued. “That he was out at every presser, that he was running heard for the administration on Covid, and that you actually gave him a presidential commendation before you left office. Wouldn’t you like a do-over on that?”
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In response to Kelly’s question, Trump insisted that he did not know who gave Fauci the presidential commendation.
“I really don’t know who gave him the commendation,” he said. “I wouldn’t have done it.”
In another portion of the interview, Trump told Kelly he “overrode” many of the things Fauci did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He was much less important to me,” Trump argued. “Now, with that all being said, he’s been there for years. He was respected. He lost a lot of the respect because of COVID.”
