Fauci calls White House criticism of him 'bizarre' 

After days of attacks from Trump aides, U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Wednesday called the White House effort to discredit him "bizarre" and urged an end to the divisiveness over the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying "let's stop this nonsense" and focus on the virus. 

"I cannot figure out in my wildest dreams why they would want to do that," Fauci said when asked about the stepped-up attacks, in an interview with The Atlantic on Wednesday. 

Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump's top trade advisor, Peter Navarro, described Fauci as "wrong about everything" in an op-ed article in USA Today. On Sunday, Dan Scavino, another Trump's close adviser, posted on Facebook a rendering that likened him to a faucet drowning Uncle Sam. 

The attempt to discredit Fauci's public health expertise is a political move, Peter Nicholas, a staff writer at The Atlantic, said. Fauci is "a recurring reminder" that the pandemic still remains an enduring threat as Trump wants people to believe the virus is being brought under control. 

Responding to the criticism, Fauci told the Atlantic: "I can't explain Peter Navarro. He's in a world by himself. So I don't even want to go there.”

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