Dr. Fauci Talks Going Up Against Donald Trump: 'Things Got Really Dicey'

Top immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke about how his working relationship with Donald Trump soured during the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday's episode of The View.

Fauci served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022. During the pandemic, he was one of the lead members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Fauci said he got along with Trump in the beginning and they had a "certain rapport" with each other.

"All that was really good in the beginning, until he wished that the outbreak would disappear because it was clearly getting in the way of both the economy and then, as a result of that, into the election cycle," Fauci said. "So he started to say things that actually were not true and I just felt I had a responsibility for my own personal and professional integrity, but also my responsibility to the American public."

Fauci said the relationship worsened from there.

"I had to contradict him. That was very difficult for me to do that," Fauci said. "Once I did that, then things got really dicey, because I don't think he went away from the fact that we did have a good relationship, but he was really very upset about the fact that I had to get up and say, 'no, it's not going to disappear like magic.'"

While Fauci has worked under seven presidents through several disease outbreaks, he explained how what he witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic was unique.

"What happened with COVID, as I think was represented with the hearing a few weeks ago, was pure ad hominem and vitriol and that really took me by surprise," Fauci said. "I thought there would be that kind of give and take and respect each other's disagreements. And that's the thing that worries me, not only about what I have to face, but the direction of the country and the social order in our democracy."

Fauci was questioned by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on June 3 for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He faced intense questioning from House Republicans about COVID-19 era rules.

As Fauci tried to enforce policies recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said Trump and his supporters went against him.

"People like Peter Navarro and Mark Meadows and others thought that I was doing that because I had some sort of antipathy to the president, which I did not," Fauci said. "And it was very painful for me. I have a great deal of respect for the presidency of the United States of America."

He also spoke about the threats he and his family have received because of the stance he took against Trump on COVID-19 policies.

"The thing that infuriates me is the cowardice of people who harass my wife and my children, three young women in the beginning of their professional life, getting harassed both for violence and sexual, explicit threats," Fauci said.

Fauci also shared concerns about the future of the public health field in the current political climate.

"Any field stays vibrant by new young people getting into the field and the field of public health and public service is no different than any other field," Fauci said. "And if people have to make a decision about going into something in which the cost of doing things that are for the benefit of society, they're getting threatened for it, that's a major disincentive."

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