Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said he is hoping for a good relationship with either a Clinton or Trump administration. | Getty Bill Gates hints at support for Clinton

When it comes to which candidate is best prepared to tackle matters of public health, the choice is clear to Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. But he's willing to work with whoever wins in November.

Gates, who along with his wife founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to fight global poverty and disease, told STAT News in an interview published Friday that while his organization would "approach any administration with a positive open mind," he has more experience with both Hillary and Bill Clinton through the Clinton Foundation.


As far as Donald Trump is concerned, Gates seemed unimpressed, though he never mentioned the real estate mogul by name.

Asked if Trump understands public health issues, Gates gave a broad smile and remarked that "[t]here have been questions about vaccines in general where some of the candidates have shown that they’re not as up to date about vaccines in general, and that’s got to be a concern." During a debate last September, Trump appeared to link an increase in autism to childhood vaccines, a theory that has been debunked in scientific circles.

"Science in general, whether it’s GMOs or vaccines, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t give science the benefit of the doubt," Gates continued. "In terms of experience, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton have more experience on global health."

But even so, the causes are "so important there’s nothing that causes you to change your total commitment," Gates said, referring to the scourges of polio, HIV and malaria, adding, "we’re going to work with whoever’s elected."

"We have had a great relationship with all administrations so far," Gates said, pointing to George W. Bush's administration starting the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as well as the President's Malaria Initiative.

Gates also had high words of praise for President Barack Obama's White House, calling them "fantastic to work with" despite budgetary restrictions. "I do think the way the U.S. government stepped in on Ebola was extremely beneficial to the world. There was a lot of good work done there particularly by CDC, but not just CDC," he said, adding, "We approach any new administration with a positive, open mind."