福奇果然改口了。 继日前接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时提出，美国若早采取措施能阻止新冠病毒后，福奇在4月13日的白宫新闻发布会上矢口否认了先前的说法，称特朗普及时实施了社交疏离措施。 福奇强调，自己和另一位疾控专家黛博拉·比尔克斯第一次也是唯一一次正式向特朗普建议“采取强有力的缓解措施”时，特朗普就采纳了建议，并采取了相关措施。 福奇还解释称，自己受访时谈及美国早些采取措施能挽救更多生命，是完全基于假设情况的肯定回答。他对媒体断章取义的报道感到不满，“这种情况经常会发生，对一个假设问题的答案会有不同的解释。我想我最好澄清一下，因为我没有机会澄清。” 据猜测，此番言论或与特朗普12日转发带有“解雇福奇”标签的贴文有关。 特朗普转发的推文来自美国共和党前众议员参选人罗琳，该推文称：“福奇现在说，如果特朗普早点听医学专家的话，本来可以挽救更多生命。但他在2月29日曾告诉公众：没什么可担心的，疫情对美国公众没有构成威胁……是时候解雇福奇了。” 这一举动一度引发外界猜测，被解读为特朗普准备解雇福奇的暗示。 At the briefing on Monday Fauci said he was answering a hypothetical question in the interview and made clear that Trump had listened to him when he recommended mitigation efforts that included strict social distancing measures. "I think he's a wonderful guy," Trump said of Fauci, while adding that not everyone was happy with him. The Republican president in the past has repeated critical tweets of officials or enemies rather than make the criticism himself. The retweet fueled speculation Trump was running out of patience with the popular scientist and could fire him, prompting a White House denial before Trump's briefing. 随后，特朗普也在发布会上表示，不会解雇福奇。他承认自己注意到“解雇福奇”的标签，但“那是别人的观点”，并不表示自己认同。 特朗普强调自己很喜欢福奇，“我认为他棒极了。” 他还表示，自己和福奇的观点一致，“我们从一开始就是这样” 。 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he liked leading health expert Anthony Fauci and did not intend to fire him after Fauci said in an interview that earlier mitigation efforts against the coronavirus outbreak could have saved more lives. At a sometimes contentious briefing with reporters, Trump said he and Fauci had been on the same page "from the beginning" about the virus and played a video for reporters defending his administration's response. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump's retweet addressed what he considered a false report on his travel restriction involving China, where the novel coronavirus originated. Fauci has assumed national prominence – and a degree of affection – as a leader in the fight against the coronavirus. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci with U.S. President Donald Trump during the coronavirus response daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2020. /Reuters He has contradicted or corrected Trump on scientific matters during the public health crisis, including whether the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is effective against the virus. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked on CNN about a New York Times report documenting early warnings issued to the White House about the novel coronavirus. The scientist acknowledged shutting the country down sooner could have saved lives, but cautioned that a number of factors were involved. "Obviously, it would have been nice if we had a better head start, but I don't think you could say that we are where we are right now because of one factor," Fauci said. "It's very complicated." Already a target of the far right for his contradictions of Trump, Fauci drew more opprobrium after the interview. Trump also denounced the Times story in tweets on Sunday, calling it "Fake." Last week during the daily White House coronavirus briefing, Trump stepped in and prevented Fauci from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine. "He won't fire Fauci today," tweeted Joe Lockhart, press secretary to former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. "That's not his style. He needs to humiliate him a while first." Fauci, 79, has led the federal infectious disease agency since 1984 under Republican and Democratic presidents. Republican George W. Bush honored him with the presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008. Some polls during the public health crisis have shown Americans trust him more than Trump. 推荐阅读：美国新冠病毒感染超55万例，福奇：若白宫早点采取措施，可挽救更多生命屡屡跟特朗普唱反调的福奇受到死亡威胁，美政府派出9名“保镖”