Trump: Fauci was not 'big player' in my administration, 'not allowed' to fire him
Former president also rips DeSantis' COVID response in interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt
By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News
Published September 6, 2023 4:38pm EDT
Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci was not a "big player" in his administration and reiterated his position that he wasn’t "allowed" to fire the medical adviser.
"First of all, you’re not allowed," Trump told Hugh Hewitt’s radio show when asked by the conservative host why he didn’t fire Fauci, the controversial head of Trump's COVID-19 response team, which Hewitt called the "biggest knock" on Trump’s presidency.
"No, no, no, Dr. Fauci was there. First of all, he’s civil service, and you’re not allowed to fire him. But forget that because I don’t necessarily go by everything … but Dr. Fauci would tell me things, and I wouldn’t do them in many cases. But also, he wasn’t a big player in my administration. Dr. Fauci became a big player in the administration of Biden. He’s a very big player in Biden’s administration."
Trump has consistently criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his closest opponent in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, for his response to the coronavirus pandemic and did so again in the interview with Hewitt by previewing what he would say to DeSantis if questioned during a debate about not firing Fauci.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-fauci-was-not-a-big-player-in-my-administration-not-allowed-to-fire-him