Bill Gates said in a new interview that he turned down President Trump’s offer to be the administration’s science adviser, saying “That’s not a good use of my time.”
Gates told the health and science site Stat News that he mentioned to Trump that he was worried about the vacancy during a 40-minute meeting with the president.
Gates said Trump offered him the position, but added that he didn’t know if the president’s offer was serious.
“I didn’t put him to the test, whether that was a serious thing or not,” Gates said.
{mosads}“He probably himself didn’t know if he was serious. It was a friendly thing. He was being friendly.”
The position has been empty since former President Obama’s director of science and technology policy, John Holdren, resigned at the end of that administration.
The billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder has met with Trump several times to advocate for a universal flu vaccine.
Gates told Stat News that Trump was “super interested” in the idea.