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.

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"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.

Screenshot from Facebook

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.”

With the decline of Trump's popularity in opinion polls over his handling of the outbreak, the views of Fauci have led to clashes with the president, whose attempt to reopen the economy badly hit by the virus. In the view of Fauci, the top priority should be controlling the spread of the virus.

"You know, it is a bit bizarre. I don't really fully understand it," Fauci said in an interview with The Atlantic.

Fauci said in a Financial Times interview last week he had not briefed Trump in two months. He said on Wednesday his advice is passed onto Trump indirectly, via Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus task force.

In his Atlantic interview, Fauci recommended the country hit a reset button and acknowledge that things are not going in the right direction. The rising numbers of coronavirus infections show "we've got to do better" and states need to get on the same page and work on ways to control the virus.

"So, rather than these games people are playing, let's focus on that," Fauci said.

All the while, the president asserted on Wednesday that there is no "concerted effort" to attack Fauci and he has a "good relationship" with the immunologist.

Fauci's comment came after reports that U.S. hospitals will have to report the coronavirus data to the federal health agency in Washington instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(With input from agencies)