Fauci Asked To Play Key Role In Biden Administration

President-elect Joe Biden has revealed that he has asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to be a chief medical adviser and part of the Covid-19 response team when his administration begins in January. Talking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden said that he asked Fauci last Thursday and a meeting had been set up between the two sides.

Fauci has endured a troublesome relationship with Trump since advising the current president on the coronavirus pandemic and how the government should respond. Trump often flouted the recommendations of Fauci and regularly criticized the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as well as the institute’s guidelines.

The back and forth between Fauci and Trump was often played out to a lot of media attention, earning Fauci a large amount of respect from some sections of the public. The left often portrayed Fauci as a hero for his staunch commitment to scientific processes in the face of criticism from the president, although large members of the right, especially Trump loyalists, saw him as an embodiment of the country’s current issues.

“I asked him to stay on the exact same role he’s had for the past several presidents, and I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well, and be part of the Covid team,” Biden told Tapper as part of the first joint interview with Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Biden added that Ron Klain, his incoming chief of staff, knew Fauci well and had been talking to him “all the time.”

Biden also said during the interview that he will be “happy to” get a coronavirus vaccine once Fauci says it is safe and that he will get the vaccine publicly to demonstrate his confidence in it.

“That’s the moment in which I will stand before the public and get the vaccine”, Biden said. “People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already the numbers are really staggeringly low, and it matters what the President and Vice President do.”

The comments come a day after Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all said they would get the coronavirus vaccine publicly in order to demonstrate its efficacy and safety to the US public, with the hope of getting as many Americans as possible to trust and receive the vaccine.

“I think that my three predecessors have set the model as to what should be done, saying, once it’s declared to be safe… then obviously we take it and it’s important to communicate to the American people,” Biden said.

Biden described his coronavirus plan of action as a balance between ensuring the majority of Americans believe that the vaccine is safe and implementing a number of plans that will help slow the spread of the virus without drastically impacting the economy. The president-elect also said that he will ask Americans to wear masks in public for at least 100 days from his inauguration.

“Just 100 days to mask, not forever. 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction.” Biden told the CNN team.

“Our message to everybody struggling right now is this, help is on the way,” the 78-year-old said at an event announcing his economic cabinet picks.”

“My dad, you’ve heard me say this before, when he lost his job in Scranton, when I was a kid, and we eventually moved the family not far from here, Claymont, Delaware, just in the outskirts of Wilmington, used to say, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity; it’s about respect, your place in the community. It’s about being able to look a kid in the eye and say, “Honey, it’s going to be okay,” and mean it.” Also used to say, “Joey, I don’t expect the government to solve my problems, but I do expect them to understand my problems.” This team understands,” he said.

“11 years ago, president Obama and I entered office during the great recession and implemented the Recovery Act and saved us from a great depression. I didn’t see the map of America at the time, nor did he in terms of blue states and red states. We only saw the United States of America,” Biden continued.

“We work with everyone, for everyone, and we recovered and rebuilt together as one nation. Vice president Harris and I will do that all over again with an outstanding team. They’re ready on day one,” he said.

“To the United States Senate, I hope these outstanding nominees will receive a prompt hearing and that we will be able to work across the aisle in good faith and move forward as one country. Let’s begin the work to heal, to unite, to rebuild an economy for all Americans. They deserve and expect nothing less.”