Former President Donald Trump
said Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci was not a “big player” in his
administration and reiterated his position that he wasn’t “allowed” to
fire the medical adviser.

“First of all, you’re
not allowed,” Trump told Hugh Hewitt’s radio show when asked by the
conservative host why he didn’t fire Fauci, the controversial head of
Trump’s COVID-19 response team, which Hewitt called the “biggest knock”
on Trump’s presidency. 

“No, no, no, Dr. Fauci was there. First of
all, he’s civil service, and you’re not allowed to fire him. But forget
that because I don’t necessarily go by everything … but Dr. Fauci would
tell me things, and I wouldn’t do them in many cases. But also, he
wasn’t a big player in my administration. Dr. Fauci became a big player
in the administration of Biden. He’s a very big player in Biden’s
administration.”

Trump has consistently criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,
his closest opponent in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, for his
response to the… Read more and see video here.