DONALD Trump has accused Dr Anthony Fauci of “pandering” to China as he branded his leaked Covid emails “horrible”.
The former president has claimed Fauci was “in the pocket” of Beijing after more than 3,000 pages worth of bombshell emails were published just days ago.
One of the immunologist’s emails show he was told at the beginning of the pandemic by a virologist that Covid may have been engineered in a Wuhan lab, but publicly downplayed the theory.
Fauci served as Trump’s top Covid advisor – but this did not stop the ex-president from slamming the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
During an interview with Fox Business, Trump said: “I always got along with him great, but he was wrong on so many fronts.
“If you look at his emails, they’re really horrible.
“He was in the pocket, it would seem.. of China, the way he pandered to them and the way he dealt with them.”
The nation’s leading infectious disease expert has come under a tirade of backlash after emails – dating right back to the start of the pandemic – were published by Buzzfeed, revealing his handling of the early stages of the Covid outbreak.
Emails from Biden’s top coronavirus chief – obtained through a Freedom of Information request – suggest he downplayed the lab leak theory as the pandemic spiraled.
The emails also show that Fauci got a personal thank you note from the head of a non-profit that used a government grant to fund research at the Wuhan lab suspected in the lab leak theory.
The contents of some of the messages have led to renewed calls for Fauci to be fired from Republicans like Sen Rand Paul and Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene.
As he joined Jill Biden for an interview on Live! on Monday morning, Fauci dodged questions about the emails.
He and the First Lady instead discussed what time they have dinner and her recent trip to Delaware.
Fauci fielded a few questions about vaccinating children and on booster jabs – but avoided being pressed on the email fiasco.
Meanwhile, a Standford University epidemiologist has said Fauci’s credibility is “entirely shot” after he changed his recommendations on wearing face masks.
“I think he’s been all over the place on masks,” Professor Jay Bhattacharya said on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle.
“There are emails you can find in the treasure trove of emails that have been released where he acknowledged the virus has been aerosolized — well the cloth masks people have been recommending, they’re not particularly effective against aerosolized viruses.”
Fauci initially said people shouldn’t wear masks before scientists knew how contagious the virus is. Once that became apparent, Fauci encouraged everyone to mask up.
Reflecting on it later, Fauci said he was initially worried there wouldn’t be enough protective gear for healthcare workers if everyone bought up masks.
“I really don’t understand his back and forth and his answer made absolutely no sense,” Bhattacharya said on FOX.
