Navarro said Fauci rejected the travel ban on foreign citizens coming from China and that he repeatedly changed his mind about wearing masks in public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had initially discouraged wearing masks in public unless they were sick or cared for the sick, before recommending that all members of the public cover their faces.
Navarro’s opinion piece was a particularly open reprimand from a member of an administration who has shown signs of growing discontent with Fauci. Fauci, meanwhile, has strong support among the public and lawmakers on both sides.
Trump criticized Fauci, a professional health official who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, when offering advice that runs contrary to the president’s political or economic agenda. He called Fauci’s concern about a rapid reopening of the economy in May “surprising” and “unacceptable”, and rejected Fauci’s precaution to reopen schools.
Trump retweeted messages Monday criticizing his own public health officials for misleading the public about keeping schools closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“Everyone is lying,” said one of the tweets, written by conservative former game host Chuck Woolery. “The CDC, the media, the Democrats, our doctors, not all but most, who we are told to trust. I think it’s all about the elections and preventing the economy from coming back, it’s about the elections. I’m sick of this.”
Those observations were followed by the conviction of Admiral Brett Giroir, the administration’s coronavirus testing czar, who defended public health experts.
“Look, occasionally we can make mistakes based on the information we have, but none of us lie,” said Giroir. “We are completely transparent with the American people.”
