COVID-19: Trump demands sack of Dr Fauci

Donald Trump has promoted a tweet calling for the firing of Dr Anthony Fauci, after the White House’s top infectious diseases expert suggested the US president cost lives by delaying social distancing measures.

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Amid an escalating coronavirus pandemic, which has so far killed more than 22,000 people in the US alone, Dr Fauci appeared to confirm details of a bombshell New York Times report which described the bungling response to the crisis by Mr Trump and senior aides.

Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper why the administration failed to act in mid-February when he and other officials advised measures to slow the spread of the virus, Dr Fauci said: “You know, Jake, as I have said many times, we look at it from a pure health standpoint.

“We make a recommendation. Often, the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it’s not. But we – it is what it is. We are where we are right now.”

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In a rambling overnight Twitter tirade, Mr Trump reacted furiously to the Times’ report.

After a series of complaints about the “Lamestream Media”, Mr Trump shared a tweet by DeAnna Lorraine, a Republican former California congressional candidate, which read: “Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could’ve saved more lives.

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