OPA-LOCKA, Fla.: President Donald Trump is suggesting that he will fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after Tuesdays election, as his rift with the nations top infectious disease expert widens while the nation sees its most alarming outbreak of the coronavirus 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 230,000 Americans so far this year remains prominent in the news, sparking chants of Fire Fauci from his supporters.
Dont tell anybody but let me wait until a little bit after the election, Trump replied to thousands of supporters just after midnight Monday, adding he appreciated their advice.
Trumps comments on Fauci less than 48 hours before polls close all but assure that his handling of the pandemic will remain front and center heading into Election Day.
Its 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.
Trumps comments come after Fauci leveled his sharpest criticism yet of the White Houses response to the coronavirus and Trumps 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 hasnt spoken with Trump in more than a month. He has raised alarm that the nation was heading for a challenging winter if more isnt done soon to slow the spread of the disease.
In an interview with the Washington Post this weekend, Fauci cautioned that the U.S. will have to deal with a whole lot of hurt in the weeks ahead due to surging coronavirus cases.
Fauci said the U.S. could not possibly be positioned more poorly to stem rising cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months. He says the U.S. will need to make an abrupt change in public health precautions.
Fauci added that he believed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is taking it seriously from a public health perspective, while Trump is looking at it from a different perspective. Fauci, whos on the White House coronavirus task force, said that perspective emphasizes the economy and reopening the country.
In response, White House spokesman Judd Deere said Trump always puts peoples well-being first and Deere charges that Fauci has decided to play politics right before Tuesdays election. Deere said 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.
Trump in recent days has stepped up his attacks on Biden for pledging to heed the advice of scientists in responding to the pandemic. Trump has claimed Biden would lock down the nation once again. Biden has promised to heed the warnings of Fauci and other medical professionals but has not endorsed another national lockdown.
Trump has recently relied on the advice of Stanford doctor Scott Atlas, who has no prior background in infectious diseases or public health, as his lead science adviser on the pandemic. Atlas has been a public skeptic about mask wearing and other measures widely accepted by the scientific community to slow the spread of the virus.
Other members of the White House coronavirus task force have grown increasingly vocal about what they see as a dangerous fall spike in the virus.
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