Fauci says Trump 'got it right away' on data that suggested need to extend social distancing guidelines
President Donald Trump "got it right away" when presented with data about the rise in coronavirus cases that influenced his decision on extending social distancing guidelines, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Monday.
Posted — Updated"We showed him the data. He looked at the data and he got it right away," Fauci told CNN's John Berman on "New Day." "It was a pretty clear picture. Dr. Debbie Birx and I went in together in the Oval Office and leaned over the desk and said, 'Here are the data. Take a look.' He looked at them, he understood them and he just shook his head and said, 'I guess we got to to do it.'"
Trump said Sunday he would extend nationwide social distancing guidelines for another 30 days, an abrupt step back from his recent push to reopen the country more quickly.
The 15-day guidelines Trump announced two weeks ago were set to expire on Monday, and the President had suggested over the past week that he was looking to relax them, at least in some parts of the country.
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