Former top Pence aide Olivia Troye on Monday said she was furious at an effort by the Trump campaign to use Dr. Anthony Fauci as a “political pawn” in a new political ad.
“This is Trump hypocrisy 101 being displayed head on,” Troye told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes when asked about an ad that appeared to seize on Fauci’s praise of federal officials efforts back in March for political gain.
“I was the one that actually had to sometimes make the call … and say, ‘Dr. Fauci, you’re not going to be needed today,'" says ex-Covid Task Force official @OliviaTroye on the WH blocking Fauci. “I was disrespecting his time when he was already on his way to the White House." pic.twitter.com/ohqK3S7e4p
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) October 13, 2020
She tore into the Trump administration for seeking to “publicly undermine Dr. Fauci repeatedly” and for a months-long effort to “discredit him.”
The comments come after the leading expert on infectious diseases objected to being used by the Trump campaign in a recent political ad where he appears to praise the efforts of federal officials who have been widely criticized for their failures in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ad paints President Trump as a forceful leader who took swift and strong action against the coronavirus, despite misleading efforts to minimize the severity of the virus in public.
Fauci said the GOP campaign ad that drew criticism on Monday had taken his words out of context and attributed comments to him without permission.
Troye, who was a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force before her departure from the Trump administration in Augus,t defended Fauci, saying she was “furious” when she saw the ad which quotes Fauci as saying, “I can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more,” with regard to the Trump administration’s pandemic response.
“I personally saw them block him from being in White House press briefings,” Troye said — appearing to highlight Fauci’s marked absence from news conferences amid an effort to shut out voices that might cast a negative light on Trump’s leadership during the pandemic. She added that at times she was tasked with telling Fauci, who is also the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, that his expertise wouldn’t be needed.
“How dare you try to use him now as your political pawn,” Troye said in apparent reference to the President’s campaign effort to “flip the switch” and use Fauci’s statements to advance a political agenda that has historically sought to undermine the expert.
The infectious-disease expert separately told CNN in an interview on Monday that he believed the campaign to take down the ad, saying that it was misleading.
“I have never — either directly or indirectly — endorsed a political candidate,” he said.
While I am glad she has come forward now, WHY did it take so long.
That is the question I have for all of these “formers.”
Biden campaign came up with a response to tRump’s Fauci ad, which intentionally takes tRump out of context to show what that looks like and how that must feel…(so far its only on the Biden twitterfeed so I’ll try to embed the vid, but I don’t think I can) Only able to link to the vid on twitter, I think.
Fear for their safety is likely one reason. Trump inspires the dregs of society, as in sociopaths who plot to kidnap governors of blue states. Plots were not limited to the governor of Michigan. There is real evil out there.
The more I see of Ms. Troye, the more I like her. Notwithstanding her previous service under Q-Tip, she is doing the right thing now.
The big question is how many will revert right back to their former selves if tRump loses and that helped get us in the mess we’re in right now? How many will become deficit peacocks again? How many have bothered to attack the way the Repukes have manipulated the federal judiciary while tRump’s been in office? Their problem with tRump is that it exposed the power-at-all-costs evil brand the Rs have been selling the country for the last several decades to hold onto that power. Now that its a total embarrassment and out in the open, they can’t go back to dog-whistles and voter suppression they all were a part of before tRump got into office. I appreciate their support for Biden, but make no mistake, its temporary, and will do nothing to change the course of the Republican party’s destruction of norms and power at all costs type power grabs after Biden hopefully gets into office.