A week after appearing to project a more serious tone about the coronavirus, President Donald Trump is back to pushing unproven claims that an anti-malaria drug is an effective treatment and challenging the credibility of the nation’s leading infectious disease expert.

Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed back Tuesday, saying he will keep doing his job.

Numerous studies, meanwhile, have shown that the drug, hydroxychloroquine, is not an effective treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. And the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently withdrew an order that allowed the drug’s use as a emergency treatment for COVID-19.

Yet overnight, after returning from a trip to North Carolina where he promoted efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, Trump retweeted a series of tweets advocating for hydroxychloroquine.

The president also shared a post from the Twitter account for a podcast hosted by Steve Bannon, a former top White House adviser to Trump, accusing Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.

Fauci, a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force, pushed back Tuesday during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“I go along with the FDA,” said Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in coronavirus disease.”

It’s not the first time Fauci has come under attack from Trump and those close to him.

The president’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, who has clashed with Fauci over hydroxychloroquine, recently penned a scathing attack on the doctor that was published by USA Today. The newspaper later said the opinion piece did not meet its standards.

In recent nationally televised interviews, Trump himself has described Fauci as “a bit of an alarmist” and accused him of making “mistakes” in his coronavirus guidance to the American people.

Asked if he can continue to do his job when Trump continues to publicly question his credibility, Fauci said Tuesday he’ll press ahead “no matter what” because of the stakes involved.

“I don’t tweet. I don’t even read them, so I don’t really want to go there,” Fauci said. “I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out because I think it’s very important. We’re in the middle of a crisis with regard to an epidemic, a pandemic. This is what I do. This is what I’ve been trained for my entire professional life and I’ll continue to do it.”

Asked about claims he’s been misleading the public, Fauci said: “I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.”

Photo via AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

Related Stories
‹
A New COVID-19 Challenge: Mutations Rise Along With Cases
The race against the virus that causes COVID-19 has taken a new turn: mutations are rapidly popping up, and the longer it takes to vaccinate people, the more likely it is that a variant that can elude current tests, treatments and vaccines could emerge. The coronavirus is becoming more genetically diverse, and health officials say […]
Biden Seeks Window on Vaccine Plans as Trump Stalls Handoff
President-elect Joe Biden’s scientific advisers plan to meet with vaccine makers in coming days even as a stalled presidential transition keeps them out of the loop on government plans to inoculate all Americans against COVID-19. President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept that he lost the election means that the Biden team lacks a clear picture of the groundwork within […]
Companies Test Antibody Drugs to Treat, Prevent COVID-19
With a coronavirus vaccine still months off, companies are rushing to test what may be the next best thing: drugs that deliver antibodies to fight the virus right away, without having to train the immune system to make them. Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs; they attach to a virus and […]
WHO Downgrades COVID Pandemic, Says It’s No Longer Emergency
Written by MARIA CHENG and JAMEY KEATEN The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. WHO first declared COVID-19 to be an emergency more […]
Orange County Ends COVID-19 Testing Services After Nearly 3 Years
After nearly three years of offering PCR tests for COVID-19, the Orange County Health Department has officially halted its testing services.
China’s Xi Faces Threat From Public Anger Over ‘Zero Covid’
Written by DAKE KANG Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his “zero COVID” strategy that will soon enter its fourth year. Demonstrators poured into the streets over the weekend […]
Afraid of Needles? China Rolling Out Oral COVID-19 Vaccine
Written by KEN MORITSUGU The Chinese city of Shanghai started administering an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday in what appears to be a world first. The vaccine, a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously vaccinated people, according to an announcement on an […]
Austria Vaccine Mandate To Take Effect, but Few Emulating It
Written by EMILY SCHULTHEIS and GEIR MOULSON A law requiring most adults in Austria to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is ready to take effect, but the sense of urgency that accompanied its announcement in November has largely evaporated. Few other countries look likely to go as far as attention turns to loosening restrictions. The Austrian […]
Anti-Vaccine Chiropractors Rising Force of Misinformation
Written by MICHELLE R. SMITH, SCOTT BAUER and MIKE CATALINI The flashy postcard, covered with images of syringes, beckoned people to attend Vax-Con ’21 to learn “the uncensored truth” about COVID-19 vaccines. Participants traveled from around the country to a Wisconsin Dells resort for a sold-out convention that was, in fact, a sea of misinformation […]
U.S. Prison Guards Refusing Vaccine Despite COVID-19 Outbreaks
Written by NICOLE LEWIS of The Marshall Project and MICHAEL R. SISAK of The Associated Press. A Florida correctional officer polled his colleagues earlier this year in a private Facebook group: “Will you take the COVID-19 vaccine if offered?” The answer from more than half: “Hell no.” Only 40 of the 475 respondents said yes. In […]
›