“You know, Chris, she was in a tough situation,” Fauci told Cuomo, after the host asked whether Birx should have “said more” when she was part of the coronavirus task force during the administration of former President Donald Trump. “You really need to understand, she was living in the White House. She had an office in the lower level of the West Wing. And I guess, obviously, you say she could have done more, but it was really tough on her. She was a military person. She understands the chain of command.”

“I think if you ask her now, she probably would say she should have done more, but you really need to cut her some slack, the way I do,” Fauci added. “She was in a tough situation.”

Cuomo then asked Fauci the same question, whether he should have said more about Trump’s misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, even if it meant losing his job.

“Well, you know, I don’t think you can come out and say this guy is lying,” Fauci said. “I don’t know how good that would have been.”