Trump Attacks Birx Over Rise in COVID-19
On Sunday, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, warned that the United States was entering a “new phase” in the fight against COVID-19, noting that rural communities may also be greatly affected. President Donald J. Trump did not like this very much, implying that Dr. Birx is more concerned with her relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and taking punches at the Trump administration that she is with fighting the virus.
Trump tweeted, “So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics (sic). In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!” Aside from attacking Dr. Birx’s very real concern as numbers spike nationwide, especially in states like Florida and Texas, he again invoked a racist name for the virus.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, came to Dr. Brix’s defense. “When you have community spread,” he said, “it’s much more difficult to get your arms around that and contain it.”
Blake is a writer focused on non-profits and trade industries. He has told the stories of countless peacebuilders while covering international development with the nonprofit Search for Common Ground. He is a graduate of the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.