US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has called the White House effort to discredit him "bizarre" and urged an end to the divisiveness over the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "let's stop this nonsense."
Dr Anthony Fauci says the US should be focusing on what's gone wrong with its Covid-19 response so far. Photo: AFP
Fauci, who has become a popular and trusted figure during the coronavirus outbreak, came under criticism from President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies as Fauci cautioned against reopening the US economy too soon.
The recent spike in coronavirus infections, primarily in states that were among the earliest to lift coronavirus restrictions, put Fauci on a collision course with the White House.
"One of the things that's part of the problem is the dynamics of the divisiveness that is going on now that it becomes difficult to engage in a dialogue of honest evaluation of what's gone right and what's gone wrong," Fauci told The Atlantic in an interview.
"We've got to own this, reset this and say okay, let's stop this nonsense and figure out how can we get our control over this now."
The White House over the weekend distributed a list of statements Fauci made early in the pandemic that turned out to be wrong as understanding of the disease developed, according to media reports. Trump said this week he valued Fauci's input but did not always agree with him.
"You know, it is a bit bizarre. I don't really fully understand it," Fauci said.
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He believed the people involved in releasing that list, which was misleading because it did not include the entirety of Fauci's statements or other context, are really "taken aback by what a big mistake that was".
White House tensions with Fauci have risen with the decline of Trump's popularity in opinion polls over the president's handling of the outbreak.
The Republican president, who is seeking re-election in November, has been increasingly critical of government health officials and their guidance as a rise in infections threatens the easing of shutdown restrictions across the country. Across the country, new cases are now averaging around 60,000 a day.
The White House has denied that Fauci has been sidelined. However, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro wrote a critical opinion piece attacking Fauci for having made mistakes.
Navarro, a trade adviser who at times has expanded his reach within the Trump White House, launched an attack on Fauci in an article for USA Today.
"Dr Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on," Navarro wrote.
US President Donald Trump, US Vice President Mike Pence and director of trade and manufacturing policy Peter Navarro look on during a coronavirus briefing in April. Photo: AFP
Before departing for a trip to Atlanta, Trump was asked whether Navarro had gone rogue.
"Well, he made a statement representing himself. He shouldn't be doing that. No, I have a very good relationship with Anthony," Trump said.
A White House official said Trump did not endorse Navarro's op-ed and that Navarro was told "explicitly in recent days to de-escalate the situation". The official said that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is "fully engaged" on the matter and that Meadows thought Navarro's article was "unacceptable."
"I can't explain Peter Navarro. He's in a world by himself," Fauci said.
- Reuters