A New York bakery has put his face on doughnuts , while a New Jersey bar is selling "In Fauci We Trust" T-shirts . Twitter is ablaze with a "Fire Fauci" campaign. Media reports cast the infectious disease specialist as the arch enemy of President Donald Trump, who is eager to reopen the country despite the doctor's call for caution.

Dr. Anthony Fauci isn't buying – or buying into – any of it. In an era where almost everything is cast in red-vs.-blue terms, Fauci is staying studiously above the political fray, delivering scientific facts on the coronavirus and refusing to take the bait dangled in front of his face.

"He's an elegant communicator, and he provides solid science with a clear, reassuring demeanor," says renowned infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"His comments are always based on science, and they are couched in a firm but diplomatic manner. As a result, he has the confidence of the medical professionals and the general public."

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If Fauci isn't getting into a public battle in the White House briefing room or on social media, it's not for lack of trying by outsiders and agitators. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and veteran civil servant has disagreed publicly with Trump about the coronavirus response.

He's tamped down Trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a possible cure for the virus. He made clear he did not think the country's businesses, schools and religious institutions would be open for business by Easter – or even the end of this month, as Trump has predicted. He said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that a stronger and earlier federal response would have saved lives.

But Fauci does not call the president a liar, or say he's wrong, or put public blame on Trump. The doctor, rather, states the facts he has and leaves it to others to characterize his remarks vis-a-vis comments made by the president.

Public opinion polls show that Americans have more trust in Fauci than Trump. A Business Insider survey released Monday showed that Fauci got the highest marks of any public official for his handling of the virus. Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, ranked at the bottom. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found that 78% of people approve of Fauci's handling of the crisis, with 7% disapproving, while 46% approve of Trump's management of the pandemic, and 51% disapproving.

Fauci, who is not a politician, isn't trying to be a celebrity, says Dr. Anand Parekh,

chief medical advisor of the Bipartisan Policy Center. But his measured delivery of coronavirus updates at White House briefings have made him one.

"He's a scientist first. He's a civil servant second. He's being true to himself," says Parekh, author of the recent book "Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America." Fauci approaches the problem from a "data-driven perspective," Parekh adds. "if he hears something that's not data-driven, he has gone to the podium and from a factual, scientific perspective, made some correction."

That has clearly irked many of Trump's supporters and even the President himself. Trump slapped down a reporter's question to Fauci about the merits of hydroxychloroquine, saying to the doctor, "You don't have to answer" Fauci didn't. A failed Republican congressional candidate tweeted that Fauci should be fired – normally not notable for someone who got less than 2% of the vote in a race to unseat Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. But Trump retweeted the remark over the weekend.

Trump is known for playing with his appointees' career paths, tweeting criticism about them and even, effectively, firing them on social media. Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson found out in 2018 he was being replaced when Trump tweeted about it, a State Department spokesman said at the time, while former national security adviser John Bolton's departure was announced by Trump on Twitter. Trump said he fired Bolton. Bolton said he resigned.

The prospect of America's Pandemic Doctor getting fired drew alarm and bafflement Monday.

"Firing Dr. Fauci would be like firing Capt. Sullenberger over midtown Manhattan," Steve Schmidt, former presidential campaign advisor to Republican Sen. John McCain and a Trump critic, tweeted, referring to the pilot who became a folk hero after safely landing a plane in distress on the Hudson River.

"I think he's been extraordinary and I can't imagine ... as crazy as things get in this world and in crazy Washington ... I can't imagine that would ever happen," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said of Fauci at his daily coronavirus briefing Monday.

The White House rejected what it called a media-driven story about Fauci's job security.

"This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci. … It was Democrats and the media who ignored Coronavirus," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.