Trump implies he will fire adviser Dr Fauci

DONALD TRUMP has indicated that he will fire Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious diseases expert, if he wins re-election.

The president and Dr Fauci have had a fractious relationship during the pandemic as they clashed over how quickly to relax coronavirus restrictions and reopen the economy.

At a late night rally in Florida, chants of “Fire Fauci” broke out among the president’s supporters.

In response, Mr Trump told the crowd: “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice.”

Mr Trump went on to say that Dr Fauci was “a nice guy but he’s been wrong a lot”.

Dr Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and sits on the White House coronavirus task force.

Before the Florida rally Dr Fauci had given a dire prediction for the winter ahead. He told The Washington Post: “We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation.

“All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”

Dr Fauci’s approval rating with the American public is consistently much higher than Mr Trump’s. He has repeatedly, and publicly, countered Mr Trump’s position that the US is “rounding the turn” on the virus.

The virus has so far claimed more than 230,000 lives in the US.

Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, lambasted Dr Fauci for “choosing to criticise the president in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the president’s opponent”. “It’s unacceptable and breaking with all norms for Dr Fauci, a senior member of the president’s coronavirus task force, and someone who has praised President Trump’s actions throughout this pandemic, to choose three days before an election to play politics,” he said.

Dr Fauci said the president no longer seeks his advice. He said Mr Biden’s campaign was “taking it the [virus] seriously from a public health perspective”.

Mr Biden has said that, if elected, he will “listen to Dr Fauci”.

‘It’s breaking with all norms for Dr Fauci to choose three days before an election to play politics’