Trump alludes to firing Fauci amid their intensifying rift on how to address coronavirus

President Trump hinted early Monday to a group of supporters in Florida, that he will fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after the election. The divide between the president and Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has grown in recent weeks as the nation's coronavirus numbers begin to spike again.

At a Trump campaign rally in Opa-locka, Fla., late Sunday night, supporters broke into a chant of "Fire Fauci!" The president responded, "Don't tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election." 

Fauci has recently done a series of media interviews discussing his view that the country "could not possibly be positioned more poorly" for the rising number of cases, considering the change in seasonal weather will lead to more people gathering indoors over the next few months, which include the holiday season. 

This past weekend, Fauci told the Washington Post that the U.S. is in line to deal with "a whole lot of hurt" in the weeks and months ahead, due to the surge in cases.

Fauci, who noted that he has not seen the president in more than a month, said that while Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appears to be taking the threat of the pandemic "seriously from a public health perspective," Trump is "looking at it from a different perspective," which prioritizes "the economy and reopening the country."

Judd Deere, a White House spokesperson, said Fauci had decided to "play politics" just days before a national election, and that the doctor "has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy," but in this case has opted instead to "criticize the president in the media and make his political leanings known."