On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service

by Anthony Fauci

I have always felt compelled to tell it like it is without being offensive. So, a couple of days after Messonnier’s bombshell conference call when I got a surprise phone call from the president at 10:35 p.m., I did not flatter him. What I did do during our twenty-minute conversation about COVID-19 was to lay out the facts. I encouraged him not to underplay the seriousness of the situation. “That almost always comes back to bite you, Mr. President,” I said. “If you are totally honest about what is happening with COVID, the country will respect you for it.” He was courteous to me, and as we hung up, I felt satisfied that he had heard what I said. The next day, however, he announced at a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, that COVID was the Democrats’ “new hoax.” This was the first, but not the last, whiplash effect that I would experience in dealing with this complex man.