Biden jokes that Fauci is president, says he sees Fauci more than first lady

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President Biden joked on Thursday that Dr. Anthony Fauci is so involved in White House affairs that sometimes it feels like he is the real president.

During an address on the White House's latest strategy to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Biden opened by applauding Fauci, whom Biden said he sees more than his own wife. Biden went on to joke that Fauci is the real commander-in-chief.

"I've seen more of Dr. Fauci than I have my wife, we kid each other," Biden quipped. "Look, who's president? Fauci!"

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Biden announced at the conference that he would be issuing a series of new policies to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

The United States has become increasingly defensive internationally after the discovery of the Omicron variant out of South Africa. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The Biden administration has rolled out a slew of travel bans over the past week aimed at curbing travel from infected countries and their bordering neighbors. Biden announced that the three-day window for a negative test from incoming travelers would be cut down to just 24 hours, regardless of nationality.

Biden also noted that the US is currently supplying vaccine doses to "countries we're helping that aren't particularly friendly to us," saying that his campaign to "vaccinate the world" would have a positive benefit to Americans.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while visiting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Biden sketched out his latest plan to quell the pandemic that's dogged his presidency, with two U.S. cases of the omicron variant now confirmed and threatening to fuel an already high case count. (Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"Let me be clear, not a single vaccine dose America ever sends to the rest of the world will ever come at the expense of any American," Biden said. 

"I'll always make sure that our people are protected first. But vaccinating the rest of the world is not just a moral tool – a moral obligation we have – in my view. It's how we protect Americans."