Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that Americans should consider forgiving Dr. Deborah Birx, the former response coordinator for the Trump administrations coronavirus task force who has drawn flak for not vocally debunking the 45th presidents more outlandish ideas for combating COVID-19, including injecting people with disinfectant.

She was in a tough situation, Fauci told CNN s Chris Cuomo . You really need to understand, she was living in the White House. She had an office in the lower level of the West Wing. And I guess, obviously, you say she could have done more, but it was really tough on her. She was a military person. She understands the chain of command. And I think if you ask her now, she probably would say she should have done more, but you really need to cut her some slack, the way I do.

Birx, who has recently gone public with statements arguing that the White House could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives at the onset of the pandemic with better coordination, gave a similar argument in March during an ABC News interview.

At the time, she said Trumps bizarre suggestions about disinfectant and injecting the body with light to cure COVID-19 had blindsided her, but 30 years of military service had trained her to obey her commanding officer and prevented her from speaking up more.