White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller defended President Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” dismissing suggestions that Trump regretted placing Dr. Anthony Fauci prominently in the initial federal response.
Host Laura Ingraham raised the topic by asking if Trump had second thoughts about keeping Fauci “center stage,” pointing to congressional testimony where Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during questioning on gain-of-function research and pandemic policies.
“Well, I think it’s quite the opposite, Laura,” Miller said, asserting that Trump consistently pushed back against the traditional medical establishment throughout 2020.
Miller stated that Trump was often acting alone when he questioned early guidance from public health agencies. He noted that Trump questioned the need for universal, repeated testing for all Americans and opposed broad restrictions on low-risk groups, arguing that policy should have focused on vulnerable populations because the illness “primarily targets the elderly and the sick.”
When Ingraham noted that Fauci maintained a heavy television presence during the early months of the outbreak, Miller responded that critics were attempting to rewrite history.
“I have to be very clear on this point: President Trump saved America from a Great Depression by fighting against those who wanted to shut down the schools and shut down our way of life,” Miller said. He added that the 2020 Biden campaign spent “hundreds of millions of dollars, demonizing President Trump for fighting to keep America open at every single step.”
Miller also highlighted the administration’s distribution of emergency medical supplies, saying Trump “moved heaven and earth” to provide equipment to hospitals for patients with pre-existing conditions and comorbidities. Miller claimed those efforts resulted in a “vastly lower death rate than all the other developed nations of the world.”
Concluding his remarks, Miller pointed to current leadership decisions, referencing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a continuation of Trump’s policy direction.
Miller stated that Trump “has always put families and patients before the so-called healthcare government experts who oftentimes have an agenda of their own.”
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