President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had “never heard of” Rick Bright, who alleged that he was ousted for opposing politically connected efforts to promote a malaria drug that Trump touted without proof as a remedy for COVID-19.
“I don’t know who he is,” Trump said, when asked during his daily White House briefing if he had a response to Bright’s allegations..
Bright said in a statement that he was summarily removed from his job on Tuesday and reassigned to a lesser role. His lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, called it “retaliation plain and simple.”
Controversy has swirled around the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine since Trump started promoting it from the podium in the White House briefing room.
During the briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci also said he is “convinced” that the coronavirus will return in the fall, contradicting Trump’s suggestion earlier in the briefing that the virus might not come back.
Fauci also addressed two pet cats in New York state that tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first cases in companion animals in the United States.
“There’s no evidence that the virus is transmitted from a pet to to a human,” Fauci said.
The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say.
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