The United States' top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, praised former U.S. President Donald Trump after the Republican businessman announced that he got the booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine that resulted in him getting booed by his supporters.
The announcement by the former president was made during an event on Sunday held in Dallas and resulted in Trump dismissing the fans that booed him. The Republican businessman revealed his vaccination status while talking with former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.
Trump Gets Booster Shot
During the discussions, Trump said "yes" when asked by the host whether or not he had received a booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine. While O'Reilly was continuing with the conversation, the former president interjected when he heard some people in the crowd booing his announcement.
"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, no, no. That's - there's a very tiny group over there," said Trump, citing the apparent small crowd of people booing his reveal. The incident was shown in a video posted by O'Reilly's show "No Spin News," CBS News reported.
On Tuesday, Fauci offered rare praise for the former president for getting a booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine. The medical professional also expressed his surprise regarding the reaction of some people in the audience after Trump made his announcement.
Fauci said that Trump's supporters booing him over getting the booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine did not make sense at all. The medical professional said the Republican businessman did the right thing based on a public health standpoint.
In his statement, the infectious disease expert said he was "very pleased" with former President Trump for his cheerful promotion of the vaccine and booster shots to his mainly vaccine-skeptical supporters. Fauci lauded the Republican businessman for publicly saying he got vaccinated and even booster, the New York Daily News reported.
Reassuring the Former President
After the incident, host O'Reilly described himself trying to reassure former President Trump after some of his supporters booed him for his announcement. Later, O'Reilly had an interview on NewsNation where he defended the Republican businessman for not discussing his vaccination status before the interview.
O'Reilly said that Trump most likely feared alienating anti-vax supporters if he discussed getting the booster shot before the interview. The host noted that he was called by the former president, where O'Reilly reassured him of his pro-vaccine position.
"I told him that today, he called me. I said 'This is good for you, this is good that people see another side of you, not a political side, you told the truth, you believe in the vax, your administration did it, and you should take credit for it because it did save, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of lives", said O'Reilly, Business Insider reported.
O'Reilly, a longtime Trump confidant, said the Republican businessman would definitely be running for office again. He said he was pushing the former president to focus on vaccine development in his pitch to voters. The situation comes as Trump has repeatedly teased the idea of running for president in the 2024 elections.
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