NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The White House on Monday downplayed the tenuous relationship between President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, but didn't back down on its attacks of the infectious diseases expert.
"Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity last week during an interview.
And in a statement Saturday, a White House official told CNN, "several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things." The official then proceeded to provide a list of the alleged errors.
When pressed about it during a briefing with reporters Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, "There is no opposition research being dumped to reporters. We were asked a very specific question by the Washington Post, and that question was President Trump noted that Dr. Fauci had made some mistakes, and we provided a direct answer to what was a direct question. And to the notion that there's opposition research and that there's Fauci versus the President, it couldn't be further from the truth."
She added, "Dr. Fauci and the President have always had a very good working relationship."
And when asked by a reporter if Trump still appreciated the advice he receives from Fauci, McEnany said, "Certainly. Dr. Fauci is one of many on the task force who provides advice."
But her response is likely a bit dated: Fauci said last week he hasn't given guidance to the president in several weeks.
Still, McEnany cautioned, "But the President takes the full opinions of the task force, and the varying opinion sometimes, and moves forward in a way he thinks is best for this country, like he did with the China travel ban."
