“Is that frustrating to you?” host Gayle King asked Fauci on “CBS This Morning,” noting the lack of masks among some attendees at Trump’s rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Well, yes it is, and I’ve said that often,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responded. “That situation is we want to set an example.”

Fauci noted that public health experts “know” that measures like wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds and planning most activities outdoors instead of indoors can help alleviate the spread of COVID-19.

“Those are the kinds of things that turn around surges and also prevent us from getting surges,” he said. “So I certainly would like to see universal wearing of masks.”