The White House has been scaling back U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ media appearances after he commented on the health disparity between white Americans and racial minorities with regards to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Two unnamed officials told Politico that the White House had rejected numerous “high profile” (in Politico’s words) media invitations extended to Adams last week.

The surgeon general has been absent from President Donald Trump’s daily press briefings on the coronavirus pandemic since Friday April 10, during which he spoke on the higher number of COVID-19 cases in black and Hispanic communities compared to that of whites.

“This epidemic is a tragedy, but it will be all the more tragic if we fail to recognize and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and an array of other diseases and risk factors on communities of color,” Adams said, adding that the Trump administration was “determined not to let that happen.”