There is growing tension between President Trump’s administration and the country’s leading COVID-19 chief Anthony Fauci. It comes as the White House tries to discredit public health experts on their analysis of the pandemic.
President Trump takes on Dr. Fauci over COVID-19 stand
On Sunday, White House deputy chief of staff, Dan Scavino, shared a cartoon mocking Fauci by an artist criticized for anti-Semitic imagery. The cartoon likened Fauci to a faucet dying Uncle Sam with water droplets labelled with public health warnings that have been seen to be antithetical to Trump’s policy. This post from one of the President’s advisers shows how the administration of undermining Dr. Fauci.
Although the white house denies perpetrating a smear campaign against COVID-19 experts, Trump seems to be on the onslaught of expressing his dissatisfaction with the pandemic’s analysis. His poll numbers have to dip in recent weeks amid the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the US.
On Monday, the President retweeted Chuck Woolery’s sentiments about the lies being spread regarding the pandemic. Woolery had indicated that everyone is lying from the Media, CDC, Democrats to Doctors that are supposed to be trusted. The former game show personality added that it was all about the election and ensuring the economy is kept back.
COVID-19 cases surging in the US
Dr. Fauci has been critical of the pandemic and has, on some occasions, contradicted Trump’s comments about COVID-19 numbers pushing back the President’s claims that things were improving. He has attributed the quick reopening of states to the upsurge of cases being witnessed. According to John Hopkins, there are over 3.3 million cases in the US, with over 135,000 deaths.
White House seems to discredit Dr. Fauci after sharing a list of his past erroneous comments. Among the points shared are the lead infectious diseases expert’s remarks on the severity of COVID-19 and the change of his stand on masks.
The tension between Trump and Dr. Fauci aggravated because of the President’s desire to reopen the economy. It is something experts warn against because of the surge in cases.
