Trump claims Dr Fauci is ‘a Democrat’ without evidence while attacking nation's top doctor in Fox News interview

President Donald Trump continued his attacks against Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading epidemiologist, in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning, falsely labelling him a “Democrat” while seemingly blaming him for mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis.

In an interview with the conservative network’s morning show Fox & Friends, the president slammed Dr Fauci, a member of his White House coronavirus response task force, saying “he’s been wrong” throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked about what seems to be a brewing feud between Mr Trump and the prominent infectious disease expert, who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease since 1984, the president called him a “nice guy” and added: “It's good if people trust him.”

“He’s a Democrat,” Mr Trump also said about the doctor. “He is a little bit not a team player.”

However, Dr Fauci has insisted he is “apolitical” in recent interviews after the president used his quotes in a campaign ad. A spokesperson for Dr Fauci has also said he “is not affiliated or registered with any political party, nor does he endorse any political party or candidate”.

The epidemiologist has served under and worked with every single president since Ronald Reagan, when he was an instrumental figure in the fight against AIDS. Dr Fauci has been credited by activists for reshaping the way federal government and the international scientific community conduct clinical research trials surrounding novel viruses. 

Mr Trump used comments Dr Fauci made discussing the administration’s response to the pandemic in a campaign advertisement that seemingly made it appear as if the epidemiologist was endorsing the president and his work on the coronavirus pandemic. 

But Dr Fauci said his comments were taken out of context and not directly pertaining to the president or his performance throughout the crisis. 

“Quite frankly — I got really ticked off”, Dr Fauci said in an interview with CBS News 60 Minutes on Monday about the campaign ad.

He added: “I do not and nor will I ever, publicly endorse any political candidate. And here I am, they're sticking me right in the middle of a campaign ad. Which I thought was outrageous. I was referring to something entirely different. I was referring to the grueling work of the task force that, ‘God, we were knocking ourselves out seven days a week. I don't think we could have possibly have done any more than that.’”

The doctor also told CBS News the president “sometimes equates wearing a mask with weakness”.

Tensions between Mr Trump and Dr Fauci have seemingly worsened as the US sees spiking coronavirus infection rates in a majority of states across the country.

In a recording obtained by NBC News, he called the epidemiologist a “disaster” and said: “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots — these people, these people that have gotten it wrong.”

“Fauci’s a nice guy. He’s been here for 500 years. He called every one of them wrong,” Mr Trump said. “And he’s like this wonderful guy, a wonderful sage telling us how [to handle Covid-19].”