Dr. Anthony Fauci called White House efforts to discredit him “bizarre” in an interview with The Atlantic. The interview with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director comes after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro wrote an unsanctioned op-ed for USA Today saying Fauci had been “wrong about everything I have interacted with him on”. “Ultimately, it hurts the president to do that,” Fauci said in the interview. “When the staff lets out something like that and the entire scientific and press community push back on it, it ultimately hurts the president.” President Trump distanced himself from the Navarro op-ed Wednesday, stating that Navarro was “speaking for himself.” Fauci also said that attacks against him from the White House were “nonsense” and “completely wrong,” but he rejected the idea of resigning. “I think the problem is too important for me to get into those kinds of thoughts and discussions,” Fauci said. “I just want to do my job.”
