Trump downplays rift with coronavirus expert Fauci, saying they have a ‘good relationship’

The US president said he gets along with infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, as evidence mounts of growing friction between them

Fauci said he had not briefed Trump on Covid-19 in over two months, and had not seen him in person at the White House since early June

4-MIN READ4-MIN

US President Donald Trump has said he “likes” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, amid signs of an ongoing rift between the two men. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00pm, 14 Jul 2020Updated: 11:00pm, 14 Jul 2020

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he had a “good relationship” with Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, despite evidence of a growing rift between the two men as coronavirus cases surge in several states.

“I get along with him very well,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House. “I like him, personally.”

The conciliatory tone was a notable shift after White House officials over the weekend circulated to reporters a dossier of guidance Fauci had made early in the pandemic that was subsequently reversed.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Photo: AFP

That effort came after Trump publicly criticised Fauci in a pair of television interviews, and an interview published last weekend by the Financial Times in which Fauci said he had not briefed the president in more than two months, and had not seen him in person at the White House since early June.

Evidence of continued friction was still apparent on Monday, with Trump noting he disagreed with Fauci over the decision to cut off certain travel from China – a decision the president said saved tens of thousands of lives. And White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Fauci as one of many public health officials – who she said offered “varying opinions sometimes” – providing guidance to the president.