Fauci and not Trump will throw first pitch for Nationals' season opener as POTUS skips for fourth year
Top US infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of Major League Baseball's regular season, which was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Nationals, on Monday, July 20, announced that Dr. Fauci accepted the team's invitation of the pregame honor on Thursday night, July 23. The move suggests that President Donald Trump will skip the honor, which is generally given to US presidents, for the fourth year.
The baseball team, in a statement, wrote: "Dr. Fauci has been a true champion for our country during the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout his distinguished career, so it is only fitting that we honor him as we kick off the 2020 season and defend our World Series Championship title." Dr. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a self-described fan of Washington Nationals, the reigning World Series champions.
Before Trump's turn, every president since William Howard Taft in 1910 has thrown their own first pitch. Trump is the first president since then to skip the tradition. It was reported during the 2019 World Series, that Trump might take to the pitcher's mound, however, the Republican leader shirked the suggestion, saying he would be required to wear "a lot of heavy armor." Trump, at the time, had reportedly said: "I'll look too heavy. I don't like that."
The team's decision to honor Dr. Fauci comes amid reported hostility from Trump towards the coronavirus expert over disagreement on how to deal with the coronavirus crisis in the country. President Trump, in an interview with Fox News over the weekend, had called Dr. Fauci "a little bit of an alarmist," and had claimed that the expert got a lot of things wrong over the handling of the crisis.
Trump, during the interview, also dismissed rumors that his administration was running a campaign against Dr. Fauci. The Republican then proceeded to list several "mistakes" he claimed the infectious diseases expert had made since the pandemic began in the country. "Dr Fauci at the beginning said: 'This will pass. Don't worry about it. This will pass.' He was wrong. Dr Fauci said: 'Don't ban China. Don't ban China.' I did. He then admitted that I was right."
The Republican leader also claimed that Fauci had shifted his stance on masks, citing that the expert in the early stages had urged the public to not go out and buy N95 masks because they were in short supply and needed by health professionals. Trump noted that Dr. Fauci, in recent weeks, has now strongly advocated for everyone to wear face coverings. The Trump administration has not mandated face masks or face coverings at federal level. The president himself, until recently, had refused to wear a mask in public. Dr. Fauci, last week, had recommended that state and city authorities "be as forceful as possible" in getting people to wear face coverings in an attempt to curb the virus spread.
The interview came days after White House deputy chief of staff for communications Daniel Scavino made a Facebook post, showing Dr. Fauci as a faucet and branded him an "alarmist" and a "leaker." The infection disease expert, previously, had denounced White House attacks against him, calling them "bizarre."