Trump Turns Fauci Into Campaign Pawn, Assailing Him as ‘Idiot’
- Says Fauci’s advice would have led to as many as 800,000 dead
- Said earlier he followed infectious-disease expert’s advice
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Donald Trump is trying to turn the government’s top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, into a scapegoat for the nation’s struggle with the coronavirus, just weeks before the Nov. 3 election that hinges on the president’s handling of the pandemic.
Trump repeatedly assailed Fauci during campaign events on Monday, claiming at one point -- with no substantiation or explanation -- that had he followed the advice of the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died.