Donald Trump credits HHS Secretary for 'excellent job', denies 'fake news' of firing him

The United States President Donald Trump not only put an end to the speculations over the secretary of Human and Health Service Alex Azar being fired but also backed him on April 26. The US-based media outlets had reported that the Trump administration was considering to replace Azar amid pandemic for his ‘missteps’ in the preliminary stage of coronavirus outbreak in the country. While the media reports quoted US officials familiar with the meeting, Trump has called it “fake news”. The US President further accused the media of being “desperate” to create an outlook of chaos in the White House for the public. Trump also credited Azar for doing an “excellent job” in the US’ response to the drastic spread of COVID-19 disease. 

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Earlier, White House spokesperson Judd Deere had even denied the report and said Azar continues to lead the HHS in the country. While acknowledging the missteps taken by the US government in the preliminary stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, Deere reportedly said that ‘any speculation about personnel is irresponsible and a distraction from the whole government’. The US-based media outlets apparently cited six people who were familiar with the meetings in the Trump administration who said that the disagreement and frustration over Azar’s leadership were growing more intense. However, they said that the White House was refraining from taking any steps while the country was still struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus. As of April 27, US has recorded 987,322 confirmed cases of coronavirus with at least 55,415 deaths. 

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'Hardest working President'

While on a Twiter spree, before backing Azar, Trump had even called himself the "hardest working President" over criticism for the country's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The US President claimed that he wakes up early every morning in a bid to take effective actions and "take care" of trade deals, military actions among other things. However, lashed out on media for "hating it".

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