White House lashes out at Fauci for 'making political leanings known' ahead of election

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease expert and White House Coronavirus Task Force member, criticized the Trump administration's recent handling of the pandemic in an interview with The Washington Post published Saturday evening, and the White House was less than thrilled.

Fauci said the U.S. "could not be positioned more poorly" heading into the fall and winter, adding that the task force meets less frequently and he and Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force's coordinator, no longer have regular access to the president. Meanwhile, he said, Trump is more focused on re-opening the economy while "the public health aspect of the task force has diminished greatly." Fauci admitted he has "real problems" with Trump's now-favored pandemic adviser, neuroradiologist Scott Atlas, whom he described as a "smart guy who's talking about things that I believe he doesn't have any real insight or knowledge or experience in."

On the other hand, Fauci said Trump's Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his campaign are taking the virus "seriously from a public health perspective."

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In response, the White House called Fauci's comments "unacceptable," taking particular issue with the fact that they were made shortly before Tuesday's Election Day. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Fauci "has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy, but he's not done that, instead choosing to criticize the president in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the president's opponent — exactly what the American people have come to expect from The Swamp." Read more at The Washington Post.