Trump criticizes Birx for the first time after she issues coronavirus warnings
CNNCNN — President Donald Trump criticized Dr. Deborah Birx in a Monday tweet after she warned the pandemic is “extraordinarily widespread” in the US. While Trump and other top White House officials have publicly attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the tweet marked the first time Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, publicly drew Trump’s ire. She did not reject a warning by former Federal Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb that there could be 300,000 coronavirus deaths by the end of the year, saying, “Anything is possible.” Birx also responded to remarks from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said on ABC’s “This Week” that she did not have confidence in the task force coordinator because the President continues to spread disinformation. And White House trade adviser Peter Navarro wrote a USA Today op-ed slamming Fauci, who, he claimed, “has been wrong about everything I interacted with him on.” The White House insisted there has been no effort to undermine the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, but Navarro said last week he did not regret the op-ed.