The White House is taking aim at its key coronavirus task force member, Dr. Anthony Fauci as coronavirus cases surge across the United States. In a statement released on July 11, a White House official told CNN that a large number of White House officials are worried about how many times the renowned physician and immunologist has been wrong about the virus-related information.
The official backed this claim with several examples, including Fauci's early comments in the pandemic. It can be recalled that Fauci downplayed the coronavirus in the initial stage, and in March, went as far as advising people to not walk around with masks. This news comes as Donald Trump and Fauci not on speaking terms.
With tensions between Fauci and Trump becoming evident to the public, the two men have opted to communicate with each other only through statements and interviews. During recent radio and newspaper interviews, Fauci, who has worked with six presidents from both parties, has openly disagreed with the president on multiple occasions.
In one of these interviews, Fauci took a jab at Trump's statements about America doing relatively better than other countries in terms of restricting the virus, noting that the country isn't doing great as compared to other countries affected by the pandemic.
Responding to Trump's claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases in America were totally harmless, Fauci said he didn't know where the president got those numbers and suggested that the president's interpretation was not the case. Trump, on the other hand, has publicly criticized Fauci on national television.
Last week, Trump said Fauci is a nice man but he has made several mistakes, questioning the ability of the public health expert whom the polls show that American people trust more than the president. In a recent interview, Trump raised questions about the advice Fauci gave him at the start of the outbreak.
Responding to Fauci's statement about the United States still being knee-deep in the first wave of the pandemic in an interview earlier this week, Trump said the country is in a good place, adding that he does not agree with Fauci.
A senior administration official told CNN that a few White House officials do not trust Fauci. The source went on to say that the officials think Fauci isn't willing to work towards the best interest of the president, citing interviews where he didn't hesitate to disagree with Trump's statements.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room that the move is characteristic of the president. Schiff added that Trump can't tolerate the fact that American people trust Fauci and don't trust him, which explains why he is trying to tear him down.