As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, Dr. Deborah Birx hasn’t been on the scene much lately as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage through this nation. Birx, who was once a prominent figure on the Trump adminsitration’s coronavirus task force, has seemingly found herself on the back burner as Trump adds people he feels are more in line with his rhetoric surrounding the virus. And according to a source with first-hand knowledge of Birx’s thoughts and feelings on the matter, she’s not very happy about it.
CNN reports that Birx has told various sources that she’s “distressed” with the direction that the task force is taking and feels that the nation’s response to the pandemic is disaterous.
Sources also say that Birx feels that the recent addition of Dr. Scott Atlas to the task force was was an unhealthy influence on Trump’s already skewed thinking.
One source who’s close to Dr. Birx said about Deborah’s view of Dr. Atlas, “The President has found somebody who matches what he wants to believe. There is no doubt that she feels that her role has been diminished.”
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Birx apparently feels that Atlas is feeding the president a steady flow of misinformation, especially regarding face masks to stop the virus’ spread.
Recently, Dr. Atlas has seemed to replace both Dr. Birx as well as Dr. Anothony Fauci during task force briefings, taking to the podium often to answer questions while the two former doctors and household names have been noticeably absent.
“Don’t you think the frustration would be there?” one source close to Birx said of the briefings.
CNN alleges that some sources say that Birx is “not certain how much longer she can serve in her position.” However, another source said, “She is a good soldier. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
Former top State Department official during the George W. Bush administration and personal friend of Birx, James Glassman, said Deborah is doing what she can to make the best of a less than ideal situation.
Stating, “Dr. Birx is out in the states with the most trouble, telling them the right things about masks and distancing and going back to school. She’s ignoring the nonsense from Scott Atlas and just getting the job done — just as I’ve seen her do, fighting AIDS for the past 15 years.”
You can read the full report here.
Featured image via Flickr/The White House
