The White House said Wednesday officials werent involved in vetting an op-ed from a President Donald Trump adviser criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The piece, from trade adviser Peter Navarro, “didnt go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone,” Alyssa Farah, White House director of strategic communications, said in a statement.
Trump, she added, “values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.”
Navarro wrote in the op-ed, published Tuesday night, that Fauci “has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.”
The doctor, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), fought against Trumps decision to ban travel from China, Navarro said.
He also repeatedly downplayed the threat of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a virus from China that causes the COVID-19 disease, the adviser added, pointing to comments Fauci made throughout January and February.
“When you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Faucis advice, my answer is: only with skepticism and caution,” Navarro wrote.
The NIAID didnt respond to a request for comment.
Criticism from White House officials of Fauci has noticeably increased in recent days.
“I respect Dr. Fauci a lot, but Dr. Fauci is not 100 percent right, and he also doesnt necessarily—he admits that—have the whole national interest in mind,” Adm. Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary in the Department of Health, said Sunday.
Navarro issued a shorter statement disparaRead More From Source
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