Speaking to supporters at a Sunday night Florida rally, President Trump suggested he may fire the country's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
After the President expressed frustration with the media's coverage of COVID-19, supporters began chanting, "Fire Fauci!" Trump then responded, "Don't tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election." "I appreciate the advice. I appreciate that."
As infections surge across the US and countries in Europe head back into lockdown, tensions between Trump and Fauci have escalated. Trump has publicly referred to Dr. Fauci as a "disaster" and been quoted as saying "People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots."
Fauci, who has remained mostly apolitical throughout the pandemic, has increasingly begun to speak out against the White House's approach to the pandemic — an approach that was made clear when chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNN that the administration was focused on treatments and vaccines, rather than controlling the pandemic.
Last week, in an interview with the Washington Post, Fauci compared approaches taken by Biden and Trump. Fauci said Biden’s campaign “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective.” While Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.” He said that perspective was “the economy and reopening the country.”
Read the NPR coverage