Birx defends herself as Pelosi accuses Trump administration of spreading disinformation on Covid-19
“I have tremendous respect for the speaker, and I have tremendous respect for her long dedication to the American people,” Birx said, adding, though, that she could have “brought forth the data” to back up her analysis had the Times spoken with her.
“I have never been called pollyannish, or nonscientific, or non-data driven,” Birx said. “And I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of utilizing data to really implement better programs to save more lives.”
In its article, the Times said Birx declined to be interviewed and the newspaper did not call Birx “pollyannish,” as she had claimed during her CNN interview.
Pelosi doubled down Sunday morning on a comment she reportedly made behind closed doors on Thursday night accusing Birx of spreading disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether the account was true and if she has confidence in Birx, Pelosi said, “I think the President is spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee, so I don’t have confidence there, no.”
As CNN has previously reported, Birx, despite ties to the Obama administration, has been able to develop a close relationship with the Trump White House, which has tainted her reputation among some public health experts.
She served as the head of US Military HIV Research Program in the 90s — a role in which she oversaw the Thai vaccine trial, the first HIV vaccine to show preventative results — and later became director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS in 2005.