The full quote: "We've never had a threat like this. The coordinated response has been...There are a number of adjectives to describe it — impressive, I think is one of them. We're talking about all hands on deck. I, as one of many people on a team, I'm not the only person," Fauci said.
- "Since the beginning, that we even recognized what this was, I have been devoting almost full time on this. I'm down at the White House virtually every day with the task force. It's every single day. So, I can't imagine that under any circumstances that anybody could be doing more."
Driving the news: "The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials," Fauci said in a statement to CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
- "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate," he added.
- Axios has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
The big picture: The Trump administration has faced criticism for silencing Fauci and other top health officials, who have frequently been forced to correct the president's misleading claims about the coronavirus. The host of ABC's "This Week" said on Sunday the White House refused to allow the NIAID chief or any of the medical experts on the coronavirus task force to appear on the program.
Go deeper ... Fauci: We had a superspreader event at the White House
