The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases admitted the tricky balance between undermining Donald Trump and telling the American people the truth about coronavirus.

Anthony Fauci, who has served for 35 years at the National Institute of Health as an infectious disease expert expressed he doesn't want any disinformation to leak out as his agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention race to contain the outbreak.

'You should never destroy your own credibility,' the immunologist told Politico in an interview Friday, which was published Tuesday. 'And you don't want to go to war with a president.'

'But you got to walk the fine balance of making sure you continue to tell the truth,' Fauci, who served in his role under six presidents, continued, adding he will remain frank 'even if it's uncomfortable.'

Top expert on infectious diseases at the National Institute of Health Anthony Fauci, 79, admitted it's a hard balancing act to tell the truth and please Donald Trump

'You should never destroy your own credibility,' the immunologist said in an interview Friday, which was published Tuesday. 'And you don't want to go to war with a president. But you got to walk the fine balance of making sure you continue to tell the truth'

During a press conference on coronavirus Saturday, Fauci expressed a more worried outlook on coronavirus as Trump and his administration attempted to downplay the outbreak

When asked what the truth is about coronavirus that needs to be shared, Fauci, 79, said, despite the president's attempt to downplay the outbreak, that it is going to be 'bad.'

'I don't think that we are going to get out of this completely unscathed,' he responded. 'I think that this is going to be one of those things we look back on and say boy, that was bad.'

The CDC warned last week that an outbreak in the U.S. was essentially inevitable, and this week six deaths have been reported after individuals in Washington state contracted the virus.

Trump has made several strides to try and ease any potential panic related to the outbreak, including creating a Coronavirus Task Force, which he appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead, and holding several open-press briefings and meetings on the matter.

The president will visit the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland Tuesday afternoon as the death toll in the U.S. continues to rise and Fauci warns that the spread has reached 'pandemic proportions.'

Trump will also make a trip to the CDC this week.

Trump will visit the National Institute of Health Tuesday afternoon and later in the week is reported to be making a trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia

Trump put Mike Pence in charge of the Coronavirus Task Force, and Fauci says he has to run any interview opportunities by his office for re-clearance to speak publicly on the matter – but denies being muzzled by the White House

The president is attempting to control the rhetoric about the fast-spreading respiratory infection, including controlling which officials speak on the matter.

Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made the rounds on Sunday morning talk shows, but noticeably absent were interviews or appearances from government doctors and scientists.

Reports emerged at the end of last week that Fauci was being ordered by the White House to stay off the airwaves.

Fauci denied these reports, but conceded that Pence, the new point-person on the virus, wants him to run any interview invitations by his office for re-clearance.

He also claimed it was difficult to balance telling the truth and balancing telling Trump what he wants to hear in the age of Twitter – which Fauci has not had to deal with in past administrations.

Trump referred to coronavirus during a campaign rally last week in South Carolina as a Democratic hoax to hurt his presidency after the 'Russia hoax' and 'impeachment hoax' didn't take him down.

The president also promised during an open-press meeting Monday that they would be coming out with a vaccine 'soon,' while Fauci says the best-case scenario for a vaccine for coronavirus would be a year – and he emphasized even that was an optimistic projection.

Fauci's interview was conducted Friday, and in the days following, six deaths as a result of coronavirus were reported in Washington state – the first U.S deaths related to the virus

There are now more than 100 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S., and Fauci said Monday night that it has reached 'pandemic proportions'

'There's a temptation that you have to fight to tell the president what you think he wants to hear. I've seen really good people do that,' Fauci admitted.

The nation's top infectious disease expert took over the agency in 1984, which was just a few years after switching his professional focus to the then-fast-emerging new illness HIV/AIDS.

Fauci says that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle may not appreciate the range of what could happen now with coronavirus.

'It could be really, really bad. I don't think it's gonna be, because I think we'd be able to do the kind of mitigation. It could be mild. I don't think it's going to be that mild either. It's really going to depend on how we mobilize,' he said.

Coronavirus has spread across all continents, excluding Antarctica, creating economic disruption and taking more than 3,000 lives.

'It's really, really tough because you have to be honest with the American public and you don't want to scare the hell out of them,' Fauci continued. 'And then other times, in attempts to calm people down, [leaders] have had people be complacent about it. This is particularly problematic in a 'gotcha' town like Washington.'

Although approaching 80-years-old, Fauci said he has no plans to retire any time soon.

'I feel like I'm 45. And I act like I'm 35,' Fauci said. 'When I start to feel like I don't have the energy to do the job, whatever my age, I'll walk away and write my book.'