Bloomberg News
@Bloomberg-News·2.8M subscribers·40.1K videos
Fauci Will Stay on as Biden's Chief Medical Adviser
Posted
December 4, 2020
Views
1,280
Likes
18
Comments
38
Engagement
4.38%
December 4, 2020
1,280
18
38
4.38%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
You’re on December 4, 2020. Earlier episodes are to the left, later ones to the right — the row keeps loading as you go. Click any card to open it.
Dec 4, 20203:24Now PlayingPresident-elect Joe Biden said he would ask all Americans to wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus for the first 100 days of his administration as well as issue a “standing order” requiring face coverings in federal buildings and interstate transportation.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Biden also said that he had spoken to Dr. Anthony Fauci and asked him to stay on as the government’s top infectious disease expert.
Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a role he’s held since the Reagan administration. But Biden suggested that Fauci would have an even bigger voice in his administration, advising the president directly.
“I asked him to stay on the exact same role he’s had for the past several presidents, and I asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well, and be part of the Covid team,” Biden said. He pointed out that his incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, had worked closely with Fauci during the Ebola crisis beginning in 2014.
Biden said he would order mask use “where the federal government has authority.” And he said he would call for all Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency.
“Not forever, for 100 days,” he said. “And I think we’ll see a significant reduction” in infections.
Biden’s preview of a more robust response to the coronavirus pandemic came as he spoke about the role of the president and vice president in setting a personal example — drawing an implicit contrast with President Donald Trump, who has often eschewed wearing a mask in public and mocked Biden for wearing one. The White House has also announced that it would continue to host holiday parties this year in smaller groups, even as Covid cases and deaths break single-day records.
Biden said he would follow the lead of three of his predecessors — presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — who have volunteered to publicly get a Covid-19 vaccine to encourage others to do so.
“I’d be happy to do that. When Dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that’s the moment I will stand before the public,” he said.
“People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already the numbers are really staggeringly low. And it matters what a president and a vice president do,” Biden said. “And it’s important to communicate to the American people it’s safe. It’s safe to do this.”
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.
To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.
Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake
Connect with us on…
Breaking News on YouTube
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
