WATCH: Fauci says ‘mixed messages’ from Trump administration caused coronavirus to get out of control

"What went wrong?" Fauci was asked in regard to the American coronavirus response. "It didn't have to be this bad."

"One of the things I keep hearkening back to, that you can't run away from, is that we had such divisiveness in our country that even simple, common sense health measures took on a political connotation," Fauci said.

Fauci used the public response to mask-wearing and stay-at-home recommendations to support his position, noting that individuals choosing to comply with such "common sense" recommendation became a matter of political leanings.

In general, Republicans have been less likely than Democrats to support mask mandates and lockdown measures. While Democrats have argued that such measures are necessary in order to stop the spread of the deadly virus, Republicans have suggested that such measures are damaging to civil liberties and people's livelihoods, and that state governments should take a more targeted approach focused on helping the most vulnerable to the virus.

"It wasn't a pure public health approach. It was very much influenced by the divisiveness we had in this country," Fauci continued. "Mixed messages were coming from Washington for sure."

The Trump administration had been criticized for sending mixed and unclear messages regarding coronavirus, particularly by downplaying the threat of the virus in the early days of the pandemic. Former President Donald Trump himself has also been criticized for his personal behaviour during the pandemic, such as not wearing masks at large public events, with many suggesting that he was not setting a good example for the nation as a whole.

Democrats in Washington have also been criticized for what many have described as a hypocritical approach to coronavirus. While Democrats called upon Americans to remain at home to curb the spread, many Democrats actively endorsed and encouraged protesters, and sometimes even rioters, during the summer of 2020. A number of Democratic politicians such as Gavin Newsom and Nancy Pelosi were also caught ignoring public health measures which they themselves have endorsed.

Fauci, however, did not recognize occasional mixed messaging coming from himself, such as his early flip-flopping regarding mask wearing. In the early days of the pandemic, Fauci had argued against the use of masks. He later admitted to lying about the efficacy of masks in order to secure personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical professionals. According to Fauci, doing so was necessary due to a shortage in PPE at the time.

Fauci has also admitted to fudging the number of people who need to be vaccinated in order to establish herd immunity. In an interview in December, Fauci admitted to slowly raising the numbers in his public statements in order to nudge more Americans to get the vaccine.