Things are heating up in the contentious relationship between President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci. On Monday, Trump’s campaign invited reporters to listen in on a call that was set up to provide a pep talk for the campaign, but the topic turned to Fauci, and President Trump’s frustration was evident.
“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said Monday on the call.
“Anytime he goes on television,” there’s a ‘bomb,’” Trump told his staff, adding that if he fired Fauci it would be a “bigger bomb.”
Trump was referencing Fauci’s appearance on “60 Minutes” on CBS Sunday night. He refers to Fauci’s media appearances as bombs, and TMZ reported that journalists who listened in on the call said the president referred to Fauci sarcastically as a “wonderful sage” who’s been around for “500 years.”
“People are tired of COVID,” President Trump said on the call. “I have these huge rallies. People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They’re tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.”
Fauci continues to be a strong proponent for face masks being worn in public at all times, which is something the president does not believe in. Reports say the medical advisor Trump is closest to now is Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist with no epidemiology expertise, and is affiliated with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
During the 60-Minutes feature, Fauci said that the Trump Administration is now limiting his media appearances. On the subject of a lockdown, Fauci said he would not support a national lockdown unless COVID-19 cases were to get “really, really bad.”
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