Appearing Tuesday on WMAL’s Morning on the Mall, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, accused D.C. journalists of attempting to pit him against President Donald Trump and affirmed there is no rift between himself and the president on how to combat the Chinese coronavirus outbreak.

(Listen from 6:04)

A partial transcript is as follows:

VINCE COGLIANESE: It seems like increasingly a bunch of questions from the media are designed to create a rift between you and the President of the United States, at least, to emphasize differences of opinion that creates distances between you and the president. Are you sensing that as the media continually asks you questions about the differences you have with him?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: That is really unfortunate. I would wish that would stop because we have a much bigger problem here than trying to point out differences. They really, fundamentally, at the core when you look at it, there are not differences. The president has listened to what I’ve said with the other people on the task force have said. When I’ve made recommendations, he’s taken them. He’s never countered and overridden me. The idea of pitting one against the other is just not helpful and I’d wish that would stop so we can look ahead at the challenge we have together to get over this thing.