Dr. Fauci Confirms It: The White House Celebration of Amy Coney Barrett Was a “Superspreader Event”

Jennings Graeme/Abaca/Zuma

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.In an interview with CBS News, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated plainly what many people had suspected: The largely mask-free gathering at the White House to celebrate Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court was a “superspreader event.”
After Fauci explained to CBS’s Steven Portnoy the importance of wearing masks given that asymptomatic people can spread the virus, Portnoy pointed that the White House’s prevention strategy relied on routine testing rather than mask usage. “What did we learn about the efficacy of that strategy in terms of preventing the spread of coronavirus?” he asked.
“Well, I think the data speak for themselves,” Fauci replied. “We had a superspreader event in the White House, and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks.”
In the interview, Fauci also said that Trump’s repeated use of the word “cure” to refer to the therapeutic treatments he’d received could lead to “confusion.” “I think you really have to depend on what you mean by a ‘cure,’” he said. “We have good treatments for people with advanced disease who are in the hospital.”
Listen to the audio below:

“We had a superspreader event at the White House,” Fauci tells @CBSNewsRadio. “The data speak for themselves.” pic.twitter.com/svnwkfr6Ag
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) October 9, 2020