‘MAJOR TELEVISION STAR’

Trump’s Patience With Dr. Fauci Is Wearing Thin: NYT

The infectious-disease expert’s frequent interviews and attempts to correct presidential misstatements have rankled some in the White House.

President Trump is running out of patience with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s frequent interviews and attempts to correct presidential misstatements on the new coronavirus, The New York Times reports. Trump’s aides are also frustrated by what they see as Fauci’s flattery of the president when talking to conservative news outlets while taking “potshots” in interviews with the print media, according to the Times. Fauci and Trump have offered differing views on a potential drug to treat the coronavirus and the availability of a future vaccine. The president called the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases “a good man” Monday and may be giving him more leeway because of his reputation, the Times reports. Asked about the moment during a press conference when he put his hand over his mouth when Trump referred to “deep State Department,” Fauci reportedly told White House officials he had choked on a cough drop and didn’t want anyone to see. He was not at Monday’s coronavirus task-force briefing.