Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday offered a stunning critique of White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx — accusing the physician of helping spread misinformation about the pandemic.
“I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don’t have confidence there, no,” Pelosi told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday morning when asked if she had confidence in Birx.
The salvo comes after a Politico report on Friday leaked that Pelosi (D. Calif) reportedly chewed out Birx during a meeting with White House officials on Thursday night, calling her “horrible.”
The attacks appear to have been prompted by a New York Times article published last month which offered an unflattering portrayal of Birx as someone eager to provide President Trump with only good news about the pandemic.
Birx, an infectious disease expert who served as the Unites States’ global AIDS coordinator under Presidents Obama and Trump, defended herself shortly after during an appearance on CNN.
“I have tremendous respect for the speaker and I have tremendous respect for her long dedication to the American people and I think it was unfortunate that the New York Times wrote this article without speaking to me,” she said.
The physician, who studied under respected task force expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, also pushed back on the report’s characterization of her as “pollyannaish.”
“I have never been called pollyannaish or non-scientific or non-data driven and I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives,” she continued.
While Fauci has been subjected to months of attacks from members of the Trump administration, Pelosi’s missives against Birx are among the first leveled by a prominent Democrat.
