"The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context."
Anthony Fauci has condemned Donald Trump's team for including him in a campaign advert ahead of next month's presidential election.
The ad shows Facui saying: "I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more", seemingly speaking about Trump's reaction to the Covid-19 crisis, but the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has said that his words were taken out of context.
He said: "The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context. In my five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed political candidates."
Fauci made the comment used in the advert in March, with the full quote reading: "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."
While Fauci appears to be referring to himself, Trump responded on Twitter by disagreeing, saying: "These are indeed Doctor Facui's own words. We have done a 'phenomenal' job, according to certain governors. Many people agree... And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections!"
This isn't the first time that Fauci has distanced himself from Trump either.
Back in April,
Trump retweeted a tweet from a Republican congressional candidate that included the words #FireFauci.
This came after Fauci said that Trump lifted safety restrictions too soon, warning that it would lead to an outbreak that the country would ultimately be "unable to control".
