Biden Campaign Slams White House Attacks on Fauci as 'Disgusting'

"Over 135,000 Americans have lost their lives and tens of millions have lost their jobs because Donald Trump spent the last six months disastrously mismanaging the worst public health crisis in a century, the whole time failing to heed the warnings and guidance of medical experts -- particularly Dr. Fauci," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to reporters, The Hill reported.

"Infections in the United States have skyrocketed, surpassing every other country in the world by far, specifically because of Trump's refusal to listen to science," Bates continued. "The president's disgusting attempt to pass the buck by blaming the top infectious disease expert in the country -- whose advice he repeatedly ignored and Joe Biden consistently implored him to take -- is yet another horrible and revealing failure of leadership as the tragic death toll continues to needlessly grow."

Tensions between the White House and Fauci have risen in recent days, with Fauci's advice often contradicting the president's views on the pandemic.

Over the weekend, a White House official sent media outlets a long list of "mistakes" they said Fauci had made during the pandemic, including his comment in March that people didn't need to wear masks.

Meanwhile, the White House's deputy chief of staff for communications, Dan Scavino, shared a cartoon on Facebook on Sunday depicting Fauci as a faucet flushing the US economy down the drain due to his health guidance on the pandemic.

However, President Trump maintained he had a "very good relationship" with Fauci on Monday.

"I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. I’ve had for a long time, right from the beginning," Trump told reporters. "I find him to be a very nice person. I don’t always agree with him."

"I get along with him very well. I like him, personally," he added.