Name: Trump says Americans are ‘tired of hearing’ from Dr. Fauci
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Trump says Americans are ‘tired of hearing’ from Dr. Fauci

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TRENDING:Follow UsQuestion of the DayPresident Trump said on Monday that Americans are tired of hearing from Dr. Anthony Fauci “and all these idiots” about COVID-19, and he’d consider firing the health adviser except for the media backlash it would cause.In a conference call with his campaign staff, Mr. Trump said people “are tired of COVID.”“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Mr. Trump said, a day after Dr. Fauci appeared on “60 Minutes” on CBS and warned of a new surge in cases. “Fauci’s a nice guy, he’s been here for 500 years.”TOP STORIESHe said Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is a “disaster” who is a “bomb” on TV.The president went after the adviser to his coronavirus task force on Twitter.“Dr. Tony Fauci says we don’t allow him to do television, and yet I saw him last night on @60Minutes, and he seems to get more airtime than anybody since the late, great, Bob Hope,” Mr. Trump said. “All I ask of Tony is that he make better decisions. He said ‘no masks &amp; let China in’.”The president also said Dr. Fauci “should stop wearing the Washington Nationals’ Mask for two reasons. Number one, it is not up to the high standards that he should be exposing. Number two, it keeps reminding me that Tony threw out perhaps the worst first pitch in the history of Baseball!”Mr. Trump repeated his attacks at a campaign rally in Arizona. He complained the doctor didn’t support his decision to restrict travel from China at the end of January and switched his position on masks, though the scientific reasoning around the need for face coverings evolved early in the pandemic.“He is a wonderful guy, I like him, he just happens to have a very bad arm,” Mr. Trump said of Dr. Fauci.It would be difficult for Mr. Trump to fire Dr. Fauci directly, though he could lean on the chain of command at the Department of Health and Human Services or National Institutes of Health to oust him. Even then, Dr. Fauci could appeal based on civil service protections that guard against political interference.Rather, it’s more likely that Mr. Trump would sideline the doctor or leave him out of coronavirus task force discussions.Mr. Trump’s attacks on Dr. Fauci, who previously responded to health crises such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola and Zika, prompted a tacit rebuke from Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander.“Dr. Fauci is one of our country’s most distinguished public servants,” the Tennessee Republican said. “He has served six presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan. If more Americans paid attention to his advice, we’d have fewer cases of COVID-19, and it would be safer to go back to school and back to work and out to eat.”Sen. Bernard Sanders, the progressive icon from Vermont, quoted the Fauci attacks in a tweet and said the nation shouldn’t be surprised the virus is surging again when the president “rejects science, downplays the pandemic &amp; relies on right-wing conspiracy theories.”Several media outlets reported on Mr. Trump’s campaign call. The president said at one point, “If there’s a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it, I couldn’t care less.”“We’re going to win,” the president told staffers. “I wouldn’t have told you that maybe two or three weeks ago. My people are doing a great job.”• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this story, which is also based in part on wire service reports.Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC..&nbsp;Click to Read Moreand View CommentsClick to Hide

TRENDING:Follow UsQuestion of the DayPresident Trump said on Monday that Americans are tired of hearing from Dr. Anthony Fauci “and all these idiots” about COVID-19, and he’d consider firing the health adviser except for the media backlash it would cause.In a conference call with his campaign staff, Mr. Trump said people “are tired of COVID.”“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Mr. Trump said, a day after Dr. Fauci appeared on “60 Minutes” on CBS and warned of a new surge in cases. “Fauci’s a nice guy, he’s been here for 500 years.”TOP STORIESHe said Dr. Fauci, director...

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Trump says Americans are ‘tired of hearing’ from Dr. Fauci

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