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White House distances itself from extraordinary Navarro op-ed criticizing Fauci Trump says Navarro was wrong to write op-ed criticizing Fauci
(about 3 hours later)
The White House on Wednesday moved to distance itself from an extraordinary op-ed in USA Today in which Peter Navarro, President Trump’s trade adviser, heavily criticized Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease official, over his handling of the coronavirus crisis. President Trump on Wednesday chided trade adviser Peter Navarro for having written an extraordinary op-ed for USA Today in which he heavily criticized Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease official, over his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
“He made a statement representing himself. He shouldn’t be doing that,” Trump said of Navarro as he spoke with reporters before departing the White House for an event in Georgia.
The president’s comments were part of a concerted effort by the White House to distance itself from the op-ed — which had the headline “Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on” — in which Navarro laid out several disagreements with Fauci, a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force.
That effort came despite moves in recent days by Trump and others in the White House to raise questions about Fauci’s credibility, including the distribution to reporters of a list of instances in which they alleged Fauci had been incorrect about aspects of the pandemic.
Fauci, in an interview with the Atlantic published Wednesday, called the attempts to discredit him “bizarre” and said they had wound up hurting Trump.
“I cannot figure out in my wildest dreams why they would want to do that,” Fauci said. “I think they realize now that that was not a prudent thing to do, because it’s only reflecting negatively on them.”
He was even more pointed when discussing Navarro.
“I can’t explain Peter Navarro. He’s in a world by himself,” said Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “So I don’t even want to go there.”
White House effort to undermine Fauci is criticized by public health experts, scientists and Democrats
Trump, for his part, sought to minimize the discord among his advisers. Navarro has played a role in the coronavirus response, particularly on supply chain issues.
“We’re all on the same team, including Dr. Fauci,” the president told reporters.
At an earlier White House event, Trump said twice that he gets along very well with Fauci when asked about the Navarro op-ed.
Earlier Wednesday, the White House sought to make clear it had not blessed Navarro’s USA Today piece.
“The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone,” White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a tweet, adding: “@realDonaldTrump values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.”“The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone,” White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a tweet, adding: “@realDonaldTrump values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.”
In the USA Today piece — with the headline “Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on” — Navarro cited several instances when he had disagreed with the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has been a key player in the administration’s response to the pandemic. Despite the White House’s posture Wednesday, Navarro’s op-ed in some way echoed Trump’s comments during a Fox News interview Thursday with Sean Hannity, when he said Fauci “is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes.”
“So when you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice, my answer is: only with skepticism and caution,” Navarro wrote.
Asked Wednesday about the op-ed, Trump told reporters at a White House event, “I get along very well with Dr. Fauci.”
“That’s Peter Navarro, but I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci,” Trump said when pressed again on his thoughts about the piece.
Despite the White House’s posture on Wednesday, Navarro’s op-ed in some way echoed Trump’s comments during a Fox News interview Thursday with Sean Hannity, when he said Fauci “is a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes.”
Fauci hasn’t spoken with Trump since June, The Washington Post has reported.Fauci hasn’t spoken with Trump since June, The Washington Post has reported.
White House effort to undermine Fauci is criticized by public health experts, scientists and Democrats Among the criticisms circulated by White House officials and Navarro is that Fauci didn’t urge caution when the cases were first reported in China in January, that he gave varied advice on masks and that he has said that he didn’t believe there was concrete scientific evidence to support that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment against the coronavirus.
While White House officials have undermined Fauci before, the article by Navarro marks one of the most public attacks by a high-ranking official. Navarro has also worked on the administration’s response to the pandemic, particularly on supply chain issues. Dan Scavino, the White House social media director and deputy chief of staff for communications, late Sunday shared a cartoon on his Facebook page mocking Fauci. It depicted Fauci as a faucet spewing cold water on the economy, with phrases written alongside, including “Schools stay closed this fall,” “Indefinite lockdown” and “No NFL season.”
White House aides previously circulated talking points questioning statements Fauci has made about the novel coronavirus, which Navarro repeated in the article.
Among the criticisms listed by the White House officials and Navarro is that Fauci didn’t urge caution when the cases were first reported in China in January, that he gave varied advice on face masks and that he has said that he didn’t believe there was concrete scientific evidence to support that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment against the coronavirus.
Dan Scavino, the White House social media director and deputy chief of staff for communications, late Sunday shared a cartoon on his Facebook page mocking Fauci. It depicted Fauci as a faucet spewing cold water on the economy, with phrases written alongside, including “schools stay closed this fall,” “indefinite lockdown” and “no NFL season.”
A White House official said Wednesday that Navarro “went rogue” by writing the op-ed.A White House official said Wednesday that Navarro “went rogue” by writing the op-ed.
“The White House does not stand by these unauthorized opinions,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House dynamics.“The White House does not stand by these unauthorized opinions,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House dynamics.