As coronavirus cases surge in the United States, the White House is taking aim at the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
As coronavirus cases surge in the United States, the White House is taking aim at the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
In a statement Saturday, a White House official told CNN that „several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.“ The official went on to provide a lengthy list of examples, citing Fauci’s comments early in the pandemic and linking to past interviews.
These bullet points, which resembled opposition research on a political opponent, included Fauci downplaying the virus early on and a quote from March when Fauci said, „People should not be walking around with masks,“ among other comments.
The move by the White House comes as President Donald Trump and Fauci are not speaking. The tension between the two men has grown publicly as the two have responded to one another through interviews and statements.
In a recent series of newspaper and radio interviews, Fauci– who has worked under six US presidents from both parties — has at times openly disagreed with Trump.
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„As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don’t think you can say we’re doing great. I mean, we’re just not,“ Fauci said in one interview. In another, Fauci responded to the President’s claim that „99%“ of coronavirus cases in the United States were „totally harmless,“ saying he didn’t know where the President got the number, and suggesting Trump’s interpretation was „obviously not the case.“
Trump has taken to publicly criticizing Fauci on national television.
