US President Donald Trump is suggesting that he will fire US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci after today’s election, as his rift with the nation’s top infectious disease expert widens while the US sees its most alarming outbreak of COVID-19 since the spring.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Opa-locka, Florida, Trump expressed frustration that the surging cases of the virus that has killed more than 231,000 people in the US this year remains prominent in the news, sparking chants of “Fire Fauci” from his supporters.
“Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump replied to thousands of supporters early yesterday, adding he appreciated their “advice.”
Photo: AFP
Trump’s comments on Fauci less than 48 hours before polls close all but assure that his handling of the pandemic would remain front and center heading into election day.
It is the most direct Trump has been in suggesting he was serious about trying to remove Fauci from his position. He has previously expressed that he was concerned about the political blowback of removing the popular and respected doctor before election day.
Trump’s comments come after Fauci leveled his sharpest criticism yet of the White House’s response to the coronavirus and Trump’s public assertion that the nation is “rounding the turn” on the virus.
Fauci has grown outspoken that Trump has ignored his advice for containing the virus, saying he has not spoken with Trump in more than a month.
He has raised alarm that the nation was heading for a challenging winter if more is not done soon to slow the spread of the disease.
In an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday, Fauci cautioned that the US would have to deal with “a whole lot of hurt” in the weeks ahead due to surging coronavirus cases.
Fauci said that the US “could not possibly be positioned more poorly” to stem rising cases as more people gather indoors during the fall and winter months, adding that the US needs to make an “abrupt change” in health precautions.
Fauci added that he believed the Democratic presidential candidate, former US vice president Joe Biden, “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective,” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.”
White House spokesman Judd Deere said Trump always puts people’s well-being first and Fauci had decided “to play politics” right before the election.
Fauci “has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy,” but instead is “choosing to criticize the president in the media and make his political leanings known,” Deere said.
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