In a press conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trump asked why his approval rating is low in comparison to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“It’s interesting: he’s got a very good approval rating. And I like that, it’s good,” Trump said, “Because remember: he’s working for this administration. He’s working with us … He’s working with our administration.”
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The president further stated, “And for the most part, we’ve done what he and others —and Dr. (Deborah) Birx and others — have recommended.”
As if it were a competition, he compared his popularity with Fauci’s saying, “He’s got this high approval rating. So, why don’t I have a high approval rating with respect — and the administration — with respect to the virus? We should have it very high.”
“So, it sort of is curious, a man works for us, with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx also, very highly thought of,” Trump pondered. “Yet, they’re highly thought of, but nobody likes me?”
“It can only be my personality, that’s all,” the president said.
The “nobody likes me” quote set Twitter ablaze with users remarking about the tone-deaf remark. “This is what he thinks about, with 150,000 Americans dead due to the pandemic,” wrote David Corn, who is the D.C. correspondent for Mother Jones.
Another user wrote, “Trump finally gets it. He finally admitted that ‘nobody likes me.’”
The hashtag #nobodylikesme quickly spread on the social media site.
The Democratic Coalition provided Trump with an explanation, “perhaps because Dr. Fauci doesn’t lie to us daily about the most serious public health issue to ever face this country?”
The quote was widely covered as a news story by numerous news outlets including CNN, CBS, and more.
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One Twitter user noted that “Nobody Likes Me” could be Trump’s new 2020 campaign slogan.
Republicans were notably silent on Twitter regarding the statement instead tweeting about riots in urban cities. Democratic users responded to their tweets with the popular hashtag. The administration will likely be asked to clarify the statement in further press conferences.
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