WHITE House officials have reportedly released a list of all the times Dr Anthony Fauci has been wrong about the coronavirus pandemic.
Donald Trump’s administration is clashing with the top disease expert as the pandemic continues to surge in the US.
It came after President Trump said last week that Dr Fauci “is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes”.
Anonymous officials in the administration have been handing out a list of past comments made by the expert which have turned out being inaccurate, reports CNBC.
The list included comments made in January that coronavirus – which has infected more than 3million Americans – was not a “major threat”.
It also highlighted Dr Fauci saying that the virus was “not driven by asymptomatic carriers” and his comment in March that “people should not be walking around with masks”.
An official said: “Several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr Fauci has been wrong on things.”
Dr Fauci, 79, heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and has been a prominent figure during the US’s fight against the pandemic.
He has been in recent days critical of the way the Trump administration has handled the coronavirus – with reports him and Trump have not spoken in two months.
The doctor said: “As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don’t think you can say we’re doing great. I mean, we’re just not.”
He also accused Trump of getting his numbers wrong and suggested the President had made the response more difficult to coordinate.
Dr Fauci has also accused states of “opening up too quickly” and “skipping over” guidelines – while predicting US infections could hit 100,000 a day in a congressional testimony in June.
The US recorded a record more than 70,000 cases per day on July 10, but the number has since fallen to around 60,000.
Dr Fauci’s stance appears to be at odds with President Trump who has been urging the US to reopen to help save the economy,.
Trump said late last month the virus is “going away”.
“Our bigger issue with Fauci is stop critiquing the task force…and try to fix it,” another official told The Washington Post.
Peter Navarro, the Trump’s trade adviser, said: “Dr. Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public but he has been wrong about everything I have ever interacted with him on.
“Now Fauci is saying that a falling mortality rate doesn’t matter when it is the single most important statistic to help guide the pace of our economic reopening.
“So when you ask me if I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice, my answer is only with caution.”
Admiral Brett Giroir, a senior member of the Covid-19 task force, also publicly critiqued Dr Fauci.
He said: “I respect Dr. Fauci a lot, but Dr. Fauci is not 100 percent right, and he also doesn’t necessarily, he admits that, have the whole national interest in mind.”
The admiral added: “He looks at it from a very narrow public health point of view.”
David Barr, a pal of Dr Fauci, said that the medic has become “exasperated” with the fact he feels some officials are not “listening to the experts”.
And then Ron Klain, Trump rival Joe Biden’s former chief-of-staff, claimed the list of errors was an effort to “smear” Dr Fauci.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “‘From a WH that has done many despicable things, smearing Tony Fauci is one of the worst. He has served six Presidents and saved countless lives.
“If a President could have just ONE advisor to help him navigate a health crisis, Tony would be my pick.”
Trump donned a mask for the first time over the weekend as the US continues to suffer – with cases hitting 3,414,105 and the death toll reaching 137,787.
Speaking about his advisors over the weekend, Trump reasoned: “They’ve been wrong about a lot things, including face masks.
“Maybe they’re wrong, maybe not, but a lot of them said don’t wear a mask, don’t wear a mask.
“Now they are saying wear a mask. So a lot of mistakes were made — a lot of mistakes.”
