Fauci Criticizes White House For Handling COVID-19 In The US

JAKARTA - United States (US) infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci urged an end to divisions over the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci firmly, said "Let's cut this nonsense."

Launching Reuters, Thursday, July 16, Fauci became a popular and most trusted figure in Uncle Sam's country during the COVID-19 hit the US. He came under fire from US President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies when Fauci warned against opening up US economic activity too quickly.

The recent spike in COVID-19 numbers, especially in states that lifted restrictions on activities the earliest, has brought Fauci and the White House again to a different view.

"One of the things that is part of the problem is the current divisive dynamic that makes it difficult to engage in an honest evaluation dialogue about what is right and what is wrong," Fauci said.

"We have to master this, reset everything, and say 'OK let's cut this bullshit' and find out how we can regain our control over this now."

The White House over the weekend issued a list of statements Fauci made at the start of the pandemic that turned out to be wrong as understanding of the disease progressed, according to media reports. Trump also said he appreciated Fauci's input but didn't always agree with him.

"You know, it's kind of weird. I don't really understand it, "Fauci said in an interview with The Atlantic.

Fauci said he believed there were people involved in releasing the list. The list is misleading because it does not include the entire Fauci statement or other context.

Tensions between the White House and Fauci have increased with Trump's popularity dropping in opinion polls over the president's handling of the outbreak. Trump, who is seeking to become president again in the 2020 US elections, has grown increasingly critical of government health officials. This is because the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases threatens to reintroduce restrictions on activities in the US. New cases now average around 60,000 per day.

Fauci said in a Financial Times interview last week that he had not briefed Trump in two months. He said his direction was being passed to Trump indirectly, through US Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the US COVID-19 Task Force.

In The Atlantic interview, Fauci also recommended the US "hit the reset button" and admitted that things were not going in the right direction. The increasing number of COVID-19 cases shows "we have to do better." He also emphasized that all parties must be on the same path and work on the right ways to control the virus.