WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday mocked Dr. Anthony Fauci’s pitching arm and the predictions he has made about the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump posted the comment on Twitter when he retweeted a story about Fauci saying he was taken out of context in a new Trump campaign ad.
“Actually, Tony’s pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications. 'No problem, no masks'." Trump wrote. "WHO no longer likes Lockdowns - just came out against. Trump was right. We saved 2,000,000 USA lives!!!”
This came after Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, criticized Trump’s campaign for including him in a political ad that made it look like Fauci was endorsing the president, or at least the job he’s done responding to the pandemic. The ad quoted Fauci earlier this year saying, “I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more."
Fauci, however, said in a statement Sunday that "the comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials."
Last week, Fauci warned during a virtual event hosted by American University that models show the United States could have 300,000 to 400,000 Covid-19 deaths if the necessary precautions are not followed during the fall and winter.
As for Fauci’s pitching arm, Trump was referring to his first pitch for the Nationals on Major League Baseball's Opening Day in July, which went wildly off-target.
Fauci said Monday that he plans to stay in his post during the next president’s term, regardless of who the president is.
"I'm not going to walk away from this outbreak no matter who's the president," he said.
