White House denies Trump is considering firing Fauci despite his retweet of a hashtag calling for his ouster

The White House denied Monday that President Trump is considering firing the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, Anthony S. Fauci, after Trump retweeted a message Sunday night that included the hashtag “FireFauci” amid a flurry of Twitter activity responding to criticism of the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“This media chatter is ridiculous — President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump.”

At Monday’s coronavirus task force briefing, Fauci appeared to walk back his comments to CNN that had prompted a sharp response from Trump, explaining that he had been responding to a “hypothetical question” and was not intending to criticize the president. Continue reading.