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President Trump won’t fire White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci despite sharing a tweet with the hashtag #FireFauci, a spokesman said on Monday.

“This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley.

“The President’s tweet clearly exposed media attempts to maliciously push a falsehood about his China decision in an attempt to rewrite history,” Gidley said. “It was Democrats and the media who ignored Coronavirus choosing to focus on impeachment instead, and when they finally did comment on the virus it was to attack President Trump for taking the bold decisive action to save American lives by cutting off travel from China and from Europe. Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump.”

But the simple reason Fauci’s fate seemed bleak was that Trump on Sunday shared a tweet trashing the infectious disease expert’s commenting in a TV interview that an earlier shutdown of the country could have saved lives.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, has developed a reputation for candid commentary in the crisis. He said US testing for COVID-19 was “failing” last month and pushed back on Trump’s advocacy of a malaria drug to treat symptoms.

Fauci, meanwhile, was conspicuously absent from some White House briefings after Trump remarked last month that he was becoming “a major television star.” Trump administration officials brushed off questions about Fauci’s whereabouts at the time as absurd.

And Trump retweeted the #FireFauci posting as he was trying to shoot down a New York Times article that said he was slow to react to his team’s recommendations about the pandemic.

“Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up,” Trump wrote.

Trump attached that remark in sharing a tweet that said: “Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could’ve saved more lives. Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. Time to #FireFauci…”

According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, Fauci is one of the most widely respected public figures during the crisis, with a 78 percent approval rating, compared to 59 percent for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and 46 percent for Trump.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, said, “Trump is lashing out at Dr. Fauci for speaking the truth.”

“In times of crisis, we need voices of reason and sound medical advice from experts,” Maloney tweeted. “Silencing Fauci and other medical professionals only does a disservice to the American people.”

Fellow Oversight Committee member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) wrote, “Dr. Fauci has been a voice of reason and fact throughout this pandemic. The idea that anyone, much less the President of the United States, would threaten him for doing his job is inexcusable.”

Some Democrats used the hashtag #SaveFauci on Monday.

“How we handle COVID-19 requires facts. Science. Medical expertise. Experience. Not political influence. That person is Dr. Fauci. #SaveFauci,” wrote Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.).