Washington — President Trump on Wednesday chided White House trade adviser Peter Navarro for an op-ed he wrote condemning Dr. Anthony Fauci and claiming the leading infectious disease expert has been wrong on numerous occasions during the coronavirus pandemic.

“He made a statement representing himself,” Mr. Trump told reporters before departing the White House for Atlanta. “He shouldn’t be doing that. No, I have a very good relationship with Anthony.”

The president added that “we’re all on the same team, including Dr. Fauci.”

Mr. Trump’s pushback of Navarro’s piece comes after the White House attempted to distance itself from the op-ed, which was published by USA Today on Tuesday evening.

“The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone,” White House director or strategic communications Alyssa Farah tweeted, adding that Mr. Trump “values the expertise …continued .
[Source: CBS News]