National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director and coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci refused to comment on whether President Trump should be tested for coronavirus while speaking to reporters on the White House driveway Thursday afternoon.
Over the weekend, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his press aide Fabio Wajngarten met with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in South Florida. On Thursday morning, Brazilian newspapers reported that Wajngarten tested positive for coronavirus after returning to Brazil from the U.S. Both the Brazilian Health Ministry and Bolsonaro’s office confirmed Thursday that Wajngarten — who posted an Instagram photo of him standing close to Trump and Pence at Mar-a-Lago — tested positive for COVID-19.
When asked about how anyone could make the argument that Trump should not be tested given how he’s recently been in contact with someone who tested positive, Fauci declined to comment on whether the President should undergo coronavirus testing.
“I am not going to comment on an individual who has a very competent physician,” Fauci said, before adding that the White House physician is “very competent.”
On Thursday morning, Trump told White House reporters that he is “not concerned” about Bolsonaro’s press aide contracting the coronavirus.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying that given how both Trump and Pence barely interacted with Wajngarten, they “do not require being tested at this time.”
Watch Fauci’s remarks below:
Fauci on whether Trump should be tested for coronavirus: "I am not going to comment on an individual who has a very competent physician." pic.twitter.com/tx21NsmazF
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) March 12, 2020
