Dr Anthony Fauci complimented President Trump's efforts in combating the spread of coronavirus.

Dr. Fauci said his appreciation for the COVID-19 task force were taken out of context and used in a campaign ad for President Trump.

Dr. Fauci said his appreciation for the COVID-19 task force were taken out of context and used in a campaign ad for President Trump.In October 2020, a campaign ad for President Donald Trump was being circulated online that supposedly showed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), praising the president’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The narrator in the video says: “President Trump tackled the virus head-on, as leaders should" and the focus shifts to Dr. Fauci who says “I can’t imagine that… anybody could be doing more.” The ad implies that Dr. Fauci was referring to Trump but he is not shown mentioning the president.

Dr. Fauci's comment which has been included in the video was taken from an interview the NIAID director gave to Mark Levin on the Fox News Channel show “Life, Liberty & Levin” in March 2020 in which he praised the members of the COVID-19 task force and the broader government response and not Trump's actions in particular.

In a statement to CNN on Oct 11, Dr. Fauci said, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.