Former President Donald Trump participated in an interview released on Monday in which he weighed in on multiple issues. When the COVID-19 pandemic came up, he discussed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, and the disagreements they had. Trump criticized the official, stating that he was “a promoter more than anything.”

“I thought rather than firing him, you know, I listened to him, but I didn’t do what he said because, frankly, his record is not a good record,” Trump said during his appearance on “The Truth with Lisa Boothe.”

“I like him personally,” Trump added. “He’s actually a nice guy. He’s a great promoter. He’s really a promoter more than anything else.”

Trump argued that Fauci had been “wrong so much” on his COVID-19 suggestions, referring to his advising against wearing masks. The former president repeated criticisms of Fauci for opposing the travel restrictions against China when the outbreak occurred. Trump said there would have been “hundreds of thousands of more deaths” without the restrictions.

About a week after opposing the travel restrictions, Fauci changed his tune and expressed support for the measure.

Trump continued, explaining that the situation would have been worse had he listened to Fauci and other experts.“And if I would’ve listened to them?” he said. “And then they went to the other extreme, like the entire country should lock up. I didn’t go for that. And you know, it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t go for that.”

The former president praised governors who opened their states despite leftists insisting they remain closed. He pointed out that the state that enacted onerous COVID restrictions did “really terribly” and “ruined their economies.”

Dr. Fauci has urged Trump to tell his supporters to take the vaccine because conservative-leaning Americans are one of the demographics that are skeptical about the injection. The former president has encouraged his base to get the inoculation on multiple occasions.

Fauci has been a rather controversial and confusing figure over the past year amid the pandemic. On multiple occasions, he has given conflicting advice and seemed to be overly concerned with being on camera.

As we enter into year two of the COVID-19 saga, Americans – even many on the left – are becoming fed up with the draconian measures being enacted by left-leaning governors like New York’s Andrew Cuomo, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, and California’s Gavin Newsom, who is facing an aggressive recall effort. While they have gotten away with encroaching on the lives of everyday Americans so far, it is clear that a political reckoning is coming.