Megyn Kelly didn’t hold back as she questioned former President Donald Trump about his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

During the interview, Kelly raised the issue of Trump’s previous statements regarding why he didn’t remove Dr. Fauci from his position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Trump claimed, “I didn’t listen to him too much,” to which Kelly continued, “not only did you not fire Fauci, who is loathed by many — millions of Republicans in particular, but also some Democrats — You made him a star.”

Kelly pressed further, saying, “This is the criticism of you, that you made him the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. That he was out at every presser, that he was running heard for the administration on Covid, and that you actually gave him a presidential commendation before you left office. Wouldn’t you like a do-over on that?”

But Trump denied ever having awarded Fauci (which he did), saying, “I wouldn’t have done it.”

“I overrode many of the things he did. He was much less important to me,” Trump continued. “Now, with that all being said, he’s been there for years. He was respected. He lost a lot of the respect because of Covid. But he was respected. And on Covid, if you know what I did, I let the governors run their states, and many of the governors opened up their states. Some of them didn’t.”

Kelly, who has previously expressed her disapproval of Fauci, continued to press Trump on why he didn’t remove Fauci, asking, “Wouldn’t you like to go back and try to clip his wings? This guy was pushing mask mandates on us. He wanted the most extreme measure at every turn.”

Trump responded by acknowledging his propensity for firing individuals but didn’t blame the system for not being able to dismiss Fauci. He stated, “I fired a lot of people. I fired Comey and that was one of the great firings. I fired Comey and then I fired a lot of other people in the FBI, and they were great firings because the deep state, and they were at work and they were not good people. But I wasn’t, I was not a big fan of Fauci.”

When Trump attempted to criticize Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Kelly redirected the conversation to Trump’s Operation Warp Speed and the development of Covid vaccines. She pointed out, “They were rushed through. They have helped, but also hurt a lot of people, And your White House actually supported mask mandates. So wouldn’t you like a do-over on any of that?”

Trump defended his administration’s actions, citing the unprecedented nature of the pandemic. He highlighted the early decision to restrict travel from China and emphasized that at the onset, nobody truly comprehended the gravity of the situation. Kelly interjected, acknowledging the benefits of vaccines but also raising concerns about vaccine injuries and the inability to sue for such injuries.

Trump concluded by asserting his role in dealing with Covid and lamented that he didn’t receive the credit he believed he deserved for his handling of the pandemic.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)