Published 11:40 IST, November 2nd 2020
White House accuses Fauci of 'playing politics' to promote Biden as he slams Trump
The White House has accused US top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci of having politically leaning motives regarding his advice on COVID-19 response.
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The White House has accused US top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci of having politically leaning motives regarding his advice on country’s coronavirus response. After Fauci told the Washington Post that the United States was in for a “whole lot of hurt”. While assessing the approach of Democratic challenger Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump, the senior member of the coronavirus task force said that former US vice president is “taking it seriously from a public health perspective” and that the Republican leader is looking at the crisis from the perspective of economy and reopening the nation.
However, these remarks drew sharp criticism from the White House that accused Fauci of promoting his favoured candidate, Biden for the presidency in the upcoming elections. As per BBC report, White House spokesperson Judd Deere said that the comments were “unacceptable and breaking with all norms”. Deere said that as a member of the task force in the US dealing with COVID-19 pandemic, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, should have guided people with the push for a change in strategy “but he’s not done that.”
Instead, the White House spokesperson was quoted by a media outlet saying that Fauci is “choosing to criticise the president in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the president's opponent.” This comes in the backdrop of Donald Trump calling the US top infectious disease expert a “democrat” in the final presidential debate even after Fauci repeatedly denying of being associated with politics. Meanwhile, Biden has reiterated that he will “believe in science” if elected during the campaign rallies when the pandemic has become the central issue just house before the polling began.
Contrasting views of Biden and Trump on COVID-19
Biden has even said that the COVID-19 handling of incumbent Trump is an “insult” to the victims. Meanwhile, as per Johns Hopkins University tally the United States has recorded over 230,900 deaths due to coronavirus infections with its total cases surging more than 9.2 million. Without ruling out the possibility of future lockdowns, the Democratic Presidential Nominee has pledged to “let science drive our decisions”. He has also noted that even after his victory, "it's going to take a lot of hard work to end this pandemic."
Biden has been holding drive-in, socially distanced rallies throughout the battleground states while Trump has been addressing packed crowds with many individuals without a mask, and said Bide presidency would lead to economic misery for Americans. Trump said, “If you vote for Joe Biden it means no kids in school, no graduations, no weddings, no thanksgivings, no Christmas, and no Fourth of July together. Other than that you'll have a wonderful life. Can't see anybody, but that's alright.”
11:41 IST, November 2nd 2020