Trump threatens to fire Fauci after election [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Donald Trump early Monday told his supporters to wait “a little bit after the election” about the idea of firing Dr. Anthony Fauci.
• Rebuking Trump, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded that the nation needs a president “who actually listens to experts like Dr. Fauci.”
• In his latest interview with The Washington Post, Fauci said that Biden is taking the virus “seriously from a public health perspective,” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.”

During his campaign rally in Opa-Locka, Florida Monday, President Donald Trump floated the idea of firing the country’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci amid the overwhelming surge of new coronavirus cases.

The president shared his frustrations over the continuous media coverage about the climbing cases of new COVID-19 infections, as his supporters started to chant “Fire Fauci.”

“Don’t tell anybody but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump responded, adding that he was grateful for their suggestion.

The growing rift comes as Fauci made his strongest remark against the White House’s COVID-19 response and Trump’s own argument that the country is “rounding the turn.”

Haven’t been on speaking terms with the president for more than a month, Fauci said that Trump has rebuked his recommendation for mitigating the pandemic. He cautioned that the US would have to brace an enduring winter season if no actions would be taken soon to fight the virus outbreak.

In response to Trump’s statements, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted: “We need a president who actually listens to experts like Dr. Fauci.”

Meanwhile, while he campaigns for Biden in Atlanta, former President Barack Obama lauded Fauci’s efforts and argued that Trump’s “second-term plan is to fire that guy, the one person who could actually help them contain the pandemic.”

Directly speaking, Trump cannot fire Fauci since he is not a presidential appointee. In order to do that, the president would need to force Dr. Fancis Collins (Fauci’s boss) or Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to have him removed.

Distorting Fauci’s scientific legacy would also be a far-fetched goal for Trump given his accolades that include being a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient given by former President George W. Bush, a Republican. Over time, he has earned the trust and respect of both Democrat and GOP legislators.

During his exclusive interview with The Washington Post over the weekend, Fauci warned of “a whole lot of hurt” in the coming weeks because of the rapid growth of cases.

He also added that Biden is taking the virus “seriously from a public health perspective,” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.”

As Election Day comes, Biden remains concentrated on his narrative of the disastrous COVID-19 of the current administration while Trump’s rhetorics focused on accusing Biden of wanting to put the nation in total lockdown to mitigate the outbreak.

Source: The Associated Press