10 things you need to know today: October 20, 2020

Trump attacks Fauci as a "disaster," a split Supreme Court allows Pennsylvania to extend mail-in voting, and more

Anthony Fauci in Washington
(Image credit: Getty Images)

1. Trump attacks Fauci as 'disaster'

President Trump called Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, a "disaster" during a conference call with campaign staffers that reporters heard. "People are tired of COVID," Trump said. "People are tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots, all these idiots who got it wrong. ... Every time he goes on television, there's always a bomb, but there's a bigger bomb if you fire him. This guy's a disaster." Trump's attack came a day after the airing of a 60 Minutes report in which Fauci said he wasn't surprised that Trump caught COVID-19 after a mostly mask-free White House gathering that health officials suspect was a "superspreader" event. Fauci also recently said a Trump campaign ad depicting him as praising the administration's coronavirus response used his words "completely out of context."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.