Meghan McCain defends Dr. Fauci, says press can't treat him 'like he's Sean Spicer'

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President Trump defends his response to coronavirus crisis: We were way ahead of schedule

President Trump lists timeline of administration's efforts to combat COVID-19 pandemic to correct 'fake news' reports.

"The View" co-host Meghan McCain knocked the media on Tuesday, accusing them of participating in "kabuki theater" with President Trump and not treating Dr. Anthony Fauci with enough respect.

"I was particularly insulted in the questioning of Dr. Fauci. The press cannot talk to Dr. Fauci like he's Sean Spicer," she said, referring to the Trump White House's first press secretary. "He seems to be the only person holding this country together and giving people on both sides good faith on what's happening going forward."

"He actually started the tone of the press conference -- he was very angry with the implication that he was somehow not in control of what he was saying, not in control of what he was doing. I took it as an implication that he was sort of a puppet of the administration. This is a man with a long, storied career ... so he deserves a lot more respect than he got yesterday," she added.

Her comments came after Fauci, who's helping to lead the government's coronavirus response, pushed back on the suggestion that he was pressured into clarifying controversial comments he made about the administration's response to the coronavirus.

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“Everything I do is voluntary,” Fauci said with his hands up in the air. “Please, don’t even imply that.”

McCain added on Tuesday that she was tired of the "kabuki theater" in which journalists ask Trump incendiary questions and Trump offers an incendiary answer.

During Monday's press briefing, Trump had an especially testy exchange with CBS reporter Paula Reid, who suggested he didn't do enough to prepare for the pandemic, particularly in February. Trump said the reporter was "so disgraceful" and her network was "fake."

"I can never apologize or be OK with President Trump's behavior," McCain said, "but I also think the press needs to understand right now that people are scared and we really should try and make this as civil as possible on both ends."

"View" co-host Joy Behar defended the press, arguing they were right to call out Trump on his "lies."

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"Finally the press is questioning him, and calling him out on his lies," Behar said. "And every criminal president is asked the following question: What did you know and when did you know it? So, there's a big gap of what he already knew in February -- he knew a pandemic was coming -- and what he did was he played golf."

Behar added that every time Trump lies, reporters should blow a whistle so they can serve as the country's "real whistleblowers." She joked that, instead, someone in the room could have a "Pinocchio with a nose growing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.