Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who has become one of the most trusted faces of the US coronavirus response, has become the target of partisan warfare after President Donald Trump hinted he was considering sacking him.
The sudden focus on the public health expert, who is the longtime director of the non-partisan National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), came after Mr Trump retweeted a Republican former Congressional candidate who called for him to be fired.
“Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. Time to #FireFauci,” DeAnna Lorraine, a former Republican congressional candidate, wrote on Sunday night.