It’s clear that Donald Trump is sinking in the polls and he’s is nervous. And after a disastrous performance during the first presidential debate, and the release of first lady Melania Trump’s profane recordings, it’s expected that Trump and his allies will try anything to change the narrative.
Trump announced Friday morning that he and his wife have tested positive for coronavirus, and, as expected, the media suddenly stopped reporting the scandals and focused on the president’s “recovery.”
But White House coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas appeared on Fox News Friday and his comments about the president’s condition prompted anchor Chris Wallace to question the reasoning behind his remarks.
Atlas told Fox that he expected President Trump and first lady Melania Trump to make “a complete, full and rapid recovery” after the two announced they tested positive for COVID-19.
While speaking with Wallace on Friday morning, “America’s Newsroom” anchor Sandra Smith shared Atlas’ optimistic outlook on the president’s and first lady’s diagnosis.
“He said that he expects the president and the first lady to make ‘a complete, full and rapid recovery back to normal after his necessary confinement period,’” Smith said, quoting Atlas. “‘I anticipate [Trump] will be back on the road in full swing.’ He ultimately said, ‘He is a very, very healthy guy and the overwhelming majority of people even at his age do fine with this.’”
Wallace responded by saying that the public shouldn’t automatically take Atlas at his word.
“I’m going to say something and, folks, I’m just trying to give you the truth. Dr. Scott Atlas is not an epidemiologist, is not an infectious disease specialist, he has no training in this area at all,” Wallace said. “There are a number of top people on the president’s coronavirus task force who have had grave concerns about Scott Atlas and his scientific bonafides.”
“I know I’m going to get a lot of pushback from this,” he continued. “I very much hope everything he says is true. One, he can’t know, because the president is just in the earliest stages of this. And two, I understand the desire of the White House and its political people to try to talk this down, and I’m not certainly trying to talk it up and I hope and pray the president is fine.”
“Follow the scientists,” Wallace added. “Listen to the independent people who do not have a political ax to grind, and I frankly don’t think Scott Atlas is one of those people.”
Wallace, who moderated the first presidential debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday, also said to Smith on Friday, “The debate commission had decided there would be no opening handshake, and thank God for that. They were about eight feet apart from each other at their podiums.”
Watch:
Smith touts an "exclusive interview" with Dr. Atlas
Wallace: I'm going to say something, I'm just giving the truth, Atlas is not an epidemiologist, not an infectious disease specialist, he has no training in this area
Atlas is on the WH task force because Trump saw him on Fox pic.twitter.com/efwJBuwhvs
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) October 2, 2020
