US Election 2020: Donald Trump plans to ‘fire’ Dr Anthony Fauci

As supporters chanted “Fire Fauci” at a huge rally, Mr Trump implied he’d take action against the man leading America’s coronavirus fight.

US President Donald Trump, who has long denied the severity of coronavirus, has joked about his plans to fire Dr Anthony Fauci if he wins the election tomorrow.

Mr Trump was up late last night for a massive rally in Miami-Dade County, a populous region of Florida where results will be crucial in deciding who wins the state.

“We’re going to have a safe vaccine that ends the pandemic. Without it, it’s rounding the turn. I say it, it drives them crazy. It’s rounding the turn,” he told the crowd.

“Because all they want to do, you turn on the news, ‘COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. Here’s what happens, November 4th, you won’t hear too much about it. You won’t hear too much about it.”

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Mr Trump has been frantically touring the country before tomorrow’s election. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

The US has recorded more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other nation, with the illness killing more than 230,000 Americans and more than nine million people being diagnosed.

After Mr Trump’s comment to the crowd that the media would stop reporting on coronavirus if Democrat Joe Biden wins the election, the throng of supporters started chanting: “Fire Fauci.”

Epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is an adviser on the White House’s coronavirus task force.

After letting the chants continue for a few seconds, Mr Trump cracked a smile and laughed with his fans.

“Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Mr Trump responded, sparking cheers.

“He’s been wrong on a lot. He’s a nice man, though.”

The president is going to fire Dr Anthony Fauci

pic.twitter.com/7aPusuRObt

— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) November 2, 2020

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Technically, Mr Trump does not have the power to fire Dr Fauci from NIAID, though he could remove him from the task force.

Mr Biden, who hopes to take the US presidency from Mr Trump tomorrow, responded to the “Fire Fauci” plan in a rally in Cleveland, Ohio today.

“Last night Trump said he was going to fire Dr Fauci. Isn’t that wonderful?” Biden joked.

“I’ve got a better idea.

“Elect me and I’m going to hire Dr Fauci. And we’re going to fire Donald Trump.”

Dr Fauci has repeatedly been at loggerheads with Mr Trump since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Most recently, Dr Fauci told The Washington Post that Americans were “in for a whole lot of hurt” heading into their winter season.

“It’s not a good situation. All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly,” he told the publication.

Mr Trump with Dr Fauci. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

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The US is currently averaging more than 80,000 new infections each day and recently notched up a record one million new coronavirus cases in two weeks.

However Mr Trump’s promise to “fire” Dr Fauci could backfire after recent polls revealed Americans liked and trusted the infectious diseases expert.

The latest WSJ/NBC actually asked voters for their opinion of Dr Fauci. Exactly half said they had a positive opinion of him, compared to just 13 per cent whose opinion was negative.

Among independents, the split was 51-12. Among Republicans – Mr Trump’s own party – it was 27-23.

The only group with a net negative opinion of Dr Fauci were Republicans who identified themselves as supporting the President more than their party. They were 14 per cent positive and 30 per cent negative.

The polls have persistently shown that more Americans trust Dr Fauci than Mr Trump to relay accurate information about the coronavirus, and the margin on that question has never been close.