Trump Calls Health Officials ‘Idiots’: Fauci Is A ‘Disaster’

President Donald Trump harshly criticized scientists and Dr. Anthony Fauci during a call with campaign officials on Monday. The president said Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has been a key figure in leading the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was a ‘disaster’.

Trump also called scientists ‘idiots’ during the call. He has recently criticized scientists for their attitude toward the pandemic.

“People are tired of COVID. I have the biggest rallies I’ve ever had, and we have COVID,” Trump said on the call from his own hotel in Las Vegas. He attended a rally in Nevada on Sunday night. Polls show former Vice President Joe Biden leading in the state by 6.5 points.

“People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They’re tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said.

“Fauci is a nice guy,” the president said. “He’s been here for 500 years.”

The president claimed that if Fauci had been in charge, more than 500,000 people would have died. There is no evidence for this assertion, while 215,000 Americans have died and more than 8 million have contracted the virus.

On Sunday, Trump told a rally that following expert advice would have been the wrong thing to do, citing an economic downturn. However, the U.S. economy has suffered severely from the pandemic, seeing record unemployment this year.

“If I’d listen to the scientists we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead of – we’re like a rocket ship, look at the numbers,” Trump said.