Fauci reportedly slammed Trump's leadership as 'rudderless' behind his back — and criticized him to his face too

President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Dr. Anthony Fauci has largely avoided harsh critiques of President Trump in public, seemingly to avoid getting on Trump's bad side as the COVID-19 pandemic rages. But behind closed doors, the nation's top coronavirus expert hasn't been afraid to call out the president's false statements — and has been even more critical of Trump behind his back, The Washington Post's Bob Woodward reports.

In a preview of Woodward's forthcoming book Rage published Wednesday, Woodward recounts Fauci's intense criticism of Trump to other coronavirus committee leaders. He described Trump as "on a separate channel" during meetings, saying "his attention span is like a minus number," Woodward reports. Fauci also reportedly called Trump's leadership "rudderless," and said "his sole purpose is to get re-elected."

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.