‘Fire Fauci’ Chant Erupts at Trump Rally as Tensions Simmer
The chant was the latest development in Trump’s ongoing critique of Anthony Fauci.
(Bloomberg) -- A “Fire Fauci” chant erupted at one of President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, with the president quipping that he’d wait until after the election if he were to do anything.
The chant, which started shortly after midnight Monday morning, was the latest development in Trump’s ongoing critique of Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was once a prominent figure in Trump’s coronavirus response but who has since been marginalized.
The crowd broke out in the chant as Trump complained about media coverage of the coronavirus as infections rise again in the U.S. Trump had not specifically raised Fauci in the moments before the chant.
“Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice, I appreciate it,” Trump replied. “No, he’s been wrong on a lot. He’s a nice man, though. He’s been wrong on a lot.”
Trump has campaigned to fully reopen the U.S. economy and has rejected many public health measures designed to slow the spread of the virus.
“He wants to lock down the country,” Trump said of Democrat Joe Biden at the same Florida rally. Biden is not advocating a lock-down. Biden has said he’d support lock-down measures if scientists recommended it, and that he’d do more to encourage mask-wearing.
The White House criticized Fauci on Sunday after he warned in a Washington Post interview published over the weekend about the scale of the pandemic in the U.S.
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