President Donald Trump has suggested he might fire Dr. Anthony Fauci after Tuesday’s election. The comments come after the infectious diseases expert praised former Vice President Joe Biden in an interview.

Trump attended a rally of supporters in Opa-Locka, Florida on Sunday and the crowd started chanted “Fire Fauci” about 25 minutes after the start of the event. The president responded by suggesting he was considering firing Fauci.

“Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait till a little after the election,” Trump said. “I appreciate the advice.”

Trump went on to call Fauci a “nice man” who was “wrong” when he said Americans didn’t have to wear masks early on in the pandemic.

Fauci made the remark about masks on March 8, before the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidance on the matter on April 3. Since then, he’s strongly advocated mask-wearing.

Fauci has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and is a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

He gave an interview to The Washington Post on Friday where he praised Biden’s approach to the virus, saying the Democrat “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.”

Fauci said Trump’s perspective was “the economy and reopening the country.”

Republican Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona welcomed the president’s remarks and called on him to act. Biggs has been critical of Fauci for months and previously called for his removal.

“Can’t come soon enough. Please add Deborah Birx and Robert Redfield to that list, President @realDonaldTrump,” Biggs tweeted on Sunday. “The Fauci-Birx doctrine of destruction is coming to a merciful end.”

Dr. Deborah Birx is Coronavirus Response Coordinator and another prominent member of the task force. Dr. Robert Redfield is director of the CDC. He was appointed to that position by the president in 2018.

Trump’s suggestion that he could fire Fauci comes after White House COVID adviser Dr. Scott Atlas claimed lockdowns are “killing” Americans during an appearance on Kremlin-backed RT, formerly known as Russia Today. Atlas later apologized for the interview, saying he was “taken advantage of” by the registered foreign agent.

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