尽管安东尼·福奇博士在特朗普政府期间对新冠肺炎·疫情的处理受到了死亡威胁和白宫顾问的强烈反对，但他表示从未考虑过辞职。
“我只是觉得，我们必须有人在那里，谁是真正获得正确的信息给美国公众，”福奇告诉“本周”的联合主持人乔纳森卡尔周日。
“我曾经感到，现在仍然感到，我对美国公众负有一种非常强烈的责任，不是对任何政府或任何人，而是对美国公众。”
国家过敏和传染病研究所(NIAID)的前主任说，他“担心尽管有压力和正在发生的所有有点不寻常的事情，如果我真的离开它，就很少有机会向美国公众提供正确的、可能挽救生命的信息。”
福奇在他的新回忆录《随叫随到:一个医生的公共服务之旅》中记录了他长达几十年的公共卫生生涯他的书是在2022年退休后出版的，他从1984年开始担任NIAID的主任。
在此期间，福奇为七位总统提供了建议，并指导了美国对包括艾滋病、寨卡病毒、伊波拉病毒和新冠肺炎病毒在内的传染病爆发的反应。
他的上一任总统是乔·拜登。一场辩论显示，一些民主党专家、舆论作家和《纽约时报》编辑委员会呼吁拜登在本周期退出党内提名，卡尔问福奇，他是否对总统周四晚上的表现感到“惊讶”。
“我不想对任何有政治含义的事情发表评论。...福奇说:“我可以说并且感到舒服的一件事是，我和拜登总统打过交道，在我和他的交往中，真的非常积极。“他问了一些试探性的问题，他说得很对。所以，我个人对他的印象非常好。”
当卡尔问及为什么80多岁的人——拜登已经81岁了——还想再当四年总统时，福奇说，他认为这是“个人的选择，你真的不能一概而论”
“你必须考虑每个人，”他继续说道。“你知道，他们的感受，他们觉得自己能做什么。你知道，他们的热情是什么，他们的能量是什么，这些都是事情。”
尽管从政府职位上退休，福奇仍然是主要是共和党批评新冠肺炎疫情如何处理的避雷针。本月早些时候在众议院小组委员会作证时，福奇情绪激动地描述了他和他的家人在担任NIAID主任期间收到的死亡威胁。
在听证会上，众议员马乔里泰勒格林，R-Ga。呼吁将福奇投入监狱。“那个人不配拥有执照。事实上，它应该被撤销，他应该被关进监狱，”她说。
当周日早上被问及格林的言论时，福奇谈到了他所说的这种言论可能带来的伤害。
“我的意思是，这很奇怪，这种奇怪会导致其他疯子威胁和说一些不合适的话，”他告诉卡尔。
卡尔还问福奇，前白宫首席策略师、特朗普的长期盟友史蒂夫·班农在2020年底的节目《战争房间》中对福奇和美国联邦调查局导演克里斯托弗·雷(Christopher Wray)的评论，他建议将他们斩首，并将他们的头“挂在长矛上”当时，Twitter(现在的X)暂停了班农的播客账号，YouTube也撤下了这一似乎暗示福奇和雷将被斩首的片段。
在“本周”周日播出的对班农的采访中，卡尔就这些评论向班农施压。
“你是说当安东尼·福奇和他的家人面临死亡威胁的时候，当克里斯托弗·雷和美国联邦调查局的特工都面临死亡威胁的时候，你却出去谈论把他们的头挂在长矛上?”卡尔催促道。
“完全是比喻。任何人都明白这一点，”班农回应道。“那是，那是你不自量力，对了。我想，他们在推特上禁止了我们。他们因此禁止我们进入脸书。嘿，你猜怎么着?这场演出变得更加盛大。”
周日，福奇批评班农的回应，称他的话超出了隐喻性的讲话。
“这些人说他们可以说任何他们想说的话，但这只是一种比喻，”福奇说。“别买那个。那是胡说八道。文字很重要。”
Fauci on why he never quit during Trump administration
Despite death threats and backlash from White House advisers over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he never considered resigning.
"I just felt that we have to have somebody there who is actually getting the correct information to the American public," Fauci told "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
"I have felt, and still do, a very strong responsibility to the American public, not to any administration or any person, but to the American public."
The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said he was "afraid that despite the pressures and all the somewhat unusual things that were going on, if I did walk away from it, there would be little opportunity to get the correct, potentially life-saving information to the American public."
Fauci chronicled his decades-long public health career in a new memoir, "On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service." His book comes after he retired in 2022 as director of NIAID, a position he had held since 1984.
During that time, Fauci advised seven presidents and guided the nation's response to infectious disease outbreaks including AIDS, Zika, Ebola and COVID-19.
The last president he served under was Joe Biden. After a debate showing that has prompted calls from several Democratic pundits, opinion writers and The New York Times Editorial Board for Biden to step aside as the party's nominee this cycle, Karl asked Fauci if he was "surprised" by the president's performance Thursday night.
"I don’t want to comment on anything that would have any political implication. ... The one thing I can say and feel comfortable about is I have dealt with President Biden, and in my dealings with him, it's been really very positive," Fauci said. "He asked probing questions, he's right on point on things. So, my personal experience has been quite positive with him."
When asked by Karl why someone in their 80s -- Biden is 81 -- would want to serve as president for another four years, Fauci said he thinks it is "an individual choice that you really can't generalize."
"You have to take each individual person," he continued. "You know, how they feel, what they feel they can do. You know, what their passion is, what their energy is, those are the kinds of things."
Despite retiring from his government position, Fauci has remained a lightning rod for mainly Republican critics of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled. Testifying before a House subcommittee earlier this month, Fauci grew emotional describing the death threats that he and his family received during his time as NIAID director.
During that hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called for Fauci to be put in jail. "That man does not deserve to have a license. As a matter of fact, it should be revoked, and he belongs in jail," she said.
When asked about Greene's remarks on Sunday morning, Fauci spoke about the harm that he said can come from such comments.
"I mean, that's bizarre, and that bizarreness leads to other crazies threatening and saying things that are also inappropriate," he told Karl.
Karl also asked Fauci about comments former White House chief strategist and longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon made on his show "War Room" about Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray in late 2020 suggesting that they be beheaded and their heads be put "on pikes." At the time, Twitter (now X) suspended Bannon's podcast account, and YouTube took down the episode that seemed to imply Fauci and Wray be beheaded.
In an interview with Bannon that also aired on "This Week" Sunday, Karl pressed Bannon about those comments.
"You're saying at a time when Anthony Fauci and his family are facing death threats, when Christopher Wray and FBI agents all the way down are facing death threats, and you're going out and talking about putting their heads on pikes?" Karl pressed.
"A total metaphor. Anybody understands that," Bannon responded. "That's, that's your overreach, by the way. They banned us, I think, on Twitter. They banned us on Facebook for that. And hey, guess what? The show got even bigger."
On Sunday, Fauci criticized Bannon's response, saying that his words went beyond metaphorical speech.
"These people that say they can say anything they want but it's a figure of speech," Fauci said. "Don't buy that. That's nonsense. Words matter."
