President Trump joked on Friday that Dr. Anthony Fauci, an official who's helping to lead the government's coronavirus response, should move to New York where he could "easily" beat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in an election.
"I have great respect for these people," Trump said, gesturing toward his task force during the daily press briefing.
"All of them, and others that are working with us," he said. "I have great respect for this group. In fact, I told Tony Fauci -- I said why don't you move to New York? Run against AOC, you will win easily."
"But he decided that he's not going to do that. I kid, by the way, you know that," he said, turning toward Fauci.
FAUCI SAYS WORLD MAY NEVER RETURN BACK TO NORMAL AFTER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Fauci responded by smiling and placing his hand over his face in apparent embarrassment.
Ocasio-Cortez is up for reelection after serving her first term in the House of Representatives. In that short time, she's gained national prominence and caught direct criticism from Trump and other leading figures.
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That wasn't the first time Trump and Fauci had a humorous exchange on television. Fauci previously caught attention for putting his hand over his face after Trump called the State Department the "Deep State Department."
Trump later retweeted a post from someone saying "Dr. Fauci is all of us," alongside a video of Fauci's gesture.
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