TOPLINE
President Trump spoke out Wednesday against White House trade advisor Peter Navarro’s USA Today op-ed attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci that drew blistering criticism Wednesday morning, as academics, politicians and medical experts rallied behind the country’s top infectious diseases expert for the second time in under a week.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and President Trump.
KEY FACTS
“He made a statement representing himself. He shouldn’t be doing that,” Trump told reporters Wednesday, according to the Washington Post, following earlier efforts made by the White House to distance the president from Navarro’s writing.
In the op-ed, Navarro wrote that Fauci had “a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on,” citing Fauci’s reported resistance to banning travelers from China and the use of hydroxychloroquine, along with the shifting federal policy on mask-wearing, as reasons to be skeptical.
Reaction on social media was swift, as medical experts, academics, politicians and regular Americans went to bat for Fauci, viewed as one of the country’s most-trusted voices of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is an outright and full-blown Antiscience disinformation campaign coming out of the White House,” tweeted Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist, pediatrician and professor.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said President Trump should either fire Navarro or Dr. Fauci (which Trump does not have the direct authority to do), adding, “You can’t keep confusing the American people with your officials making contradictory statements about Covid.”
Former Bush Administration deputy press secretary Tony Fratto tweeted that Dr. Fauci is “one of the finest people I ever came across in government” and “The attempted trashing of his reputation by the likes of a kook like Peter Navarro is a disgrace.”
Crucial quote
“Just when I thought nothing this administration did could surprise me, I see this attack on our leading infectious disease expert by a senior advisor to the POTUS with zero background in global health,” wrote Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass on Twitter. “One expects this in Animal House, not the White House.”
Chief critics
Bipartisan support for Fauci came earlier in the week from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “We don’t have a Dr. Fauci problem,” Graham said during a Tuesday press briefing, adding, “I have all the respect in the world for Dr. Fauci. I think any effort to undermine him is not going to be productive, quite frankly.” A spokesperson for Biden told Forbes Monday that the attacks on Fauci are “the president’s disgusting attempt to pass the buck by blaming the top infectious disease expert in the country.”
Key background
Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has decades of experience on the job and in leading U.S. policy on the handling of emerging public health threats like AIDS. Recent polling indicates Americans overwhelmingly trust Fauci over Trump for information on the coronavirus. Despite this, reports emerged over the weekend that the White House is mounting attacks on Fauci to undercut his sway with the public and focus on reopening the economy. The reports followed criticism from Trump himself, who told Fox News Thursday that Fauci has made “a lot of mistakes.” A bevy of experts and public figures rushed to Fauci’s defense Monday, including former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murphy, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, Harvard Global Health Institute Director Dr. Ashish Jha, along with actress Mia Farrow and pop star and actress Cher.
Tangent
“The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone,” tweeted White House communications director Alyssa Farah on Wednesday morning.
Further reading
In Break With Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham Praises Dr. Anthony Fauci (Forbes)
‘Disgusting Attempt To Pass The Buck’: Biden Campaign Slams Trump For Fauci Attacks (Forbes)
White House targets Fauci after his blunt warnings about coronavirus (CBS News)