Tony's Diary Package — page 440

Big ISSUE!! - Blockbuster situation in Washington Post in an interview that I gave on Friday evening to Josh Dawsey and Jasmeen Abutaleb. I spoke about the fact that cases were dramatically increasing throughout the country (see prior days above) and that we needed to do something different like doubling down on public health measures. I also strongly blasted Scott Atlas. In the article, much to my dismay, Dawsey (less than Abutaleb) wanted to keep the word "seriously in a passage that I thought was off the record, but he said that it was not (I am pissed at him). Here is the passage: Fauci said former vice president Joe Biden's campaign "is taking it seriously from a public health perspective." Trump, Fauci said, is "looking at it from a different perspective." He said that perspective was "the economy and reopening the country.". Also, in the article. Judd Deere blasted me saying I was being political: Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, offered blistering criticism of Fauci for his comments in a statement to The Washington Post on Saturday. Deere said Fauci "knows the risks [from the coronavirus] today are dramatically lower than they were only a few months ago." "It's unacceptable and breaking with all norms for Dr. Fauci, a senior member of the President's Coronavirus Task Force and someone who has praised President Trump's actions throughout this pandemic, to choose three days before an election to play politics," Deere said. "As a member of the Task Force, Dr. Fauci has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy, but he's not done that, instead choosing to criticize the President in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the President's opponent -- exactly what the American people have come to expect from The Swamp." I thought that I was in big trouble. However, some interesting things happened. Alyssa Farah texted me at 7:00 AM on Sunday and said: I am so sorry that fool Scott Atlas keeps attacking you. I'm even more sorry I'm not in a better position of influence to see him out the door. I'm trying to make people see he's a disaster. I immediately called her up and explained that I was not pitting my support for Biden over the POTUS. She understood perfectly and said she totally supported me and thanked me for what I do. Then, at 9:30 AM, the POTUS called me from Air Force One. We had a 15 minute conversation where he did his usual rambling. He started by saying that I really need to be positive. "Tony, I really like you, and you know that, but what the fuck