TOPLINE
Politicians, career government officials, medical experts and celebrities are rallying behind Dr. Anthony Fauci on Twitter Monday morning, after weekend reports emerged that the White House is undercutting its top infectious diseases expert and President Trump publicly criticized him, in efforts to focus on reopening the country and moving on from the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks at ... [+]
KEY FACTS
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said,“Unlike this president, I'll actually listen to the experts and heed their advice,” while former candidate Pete Buttigieg said Fauci has become a “political lightning rod, because he doesn’t do politics.”
“The attacks on Dr. Fauci are unfair and dangerous,” said former U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murphy, adding, “Science is your guide—even if it’s politically inconvenient.”
“In the past two months, Trump has played golf more times than he has met with Dr. Fauci,” said former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
“Sidelining Dr. Fauci makes the federal response worse,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard’s Public Health Institute, pointing out that “it's the American people who suffer.”
Yale infectious diseases professor Gregg Gonsalves said that while he’s had disagreements with Fauci over the years, “No one knows more about infectious diseases in the U.S., has done more to protect Americans from pandemics past and present.”
Surprising fact
According to NBC News White House historian Michael Beschloss, President George H.W. Bush named Fauci as one of his heroes in 1988.
Chief critic
Coronavirus testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir. During a Sunday Meet The Press appearance, Giroir said Fauci doesn’t “have the whole national interest in mind,” and looks at managing the pandemic response “from a very narrow public health point of view.”
Big number
67%. That’s how many Americans trust Fauci for information on the coronavirus, according to a June 27 New York Times/Siena College poll. In comparison, that same poll revealed that just 26% of Americans trust Trump.
Key background
Trump and Dr. Fauci’s relationship has reportedly become strained over recent weeks, with Fauci telling the Financial Times that he has not seen the president since June 2, or briefed him in two months. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the White House has sidelined Fauci by canceling planned television appearances and keeping him away from the Oval Office. Aides for Trump provided the Post with a “lengthy” document of Fauci’s previous comments on the pandemic, with one unnamed official telling the paper there was concern about how often Dr. Fauci had been wrong. The Post reported that Fauci supporters acknowledged those errors and attributed them to the challenges of dealing with a new disease. The New York Times said Sunday that the document of Fauci’s comments resembled “opposition research,” a term that refers to the kind of information assembled by political campaigns on their rivals. Trump told Fox News on Thursday that that Fauci has “made a lot of mistakes,” and, according to the Times, has frequently expressed frustration about Fauci in private. As of Monday morning, Fauci has not commented on the emergence of this document or its contents.
Further reading
Fauci is sidelined by the White House as he steps up blunt talk on pandemic (Washington Post)
Trump Aides Undercut Fauci as He Speaks Up on Virus Concerns (New York Times)
U.S. Testing Czar: Fauci Doesn’t ‘Have The Whole National Interest In Mind’ (Forbes)
Fauci Pushes Back On Trump’s False Claims, Says He Hasn't Briefed President In 2 Months (Forbes)
Fauci Tells Congress U.S. Could Start Seeing 100,000 New Cases A Day (Forbes)
