President Donald Trump on Monday lambasted Dr Anthony Fauci, the press that showed him following Democrat Joe Biden in key battleground states in a disjointed closing message just two weeks out from the US election.
Mr Trump was confronted with intense pressure to turn around his campaign, hoping for the type of last-minute miracle that gave him a come-from-behind victory four years ago.
But his inconsistent message, another rise in virus cases and his attacks on experts like Dr Fauci could undermine his final efforts to appeal to voters.
“I’m not running scared,” Mr Trump told reporters before taking off for Tucson, Arizona, for his fifth rally in three days.
“I think I’m running angry. I’m running happy and I’m running very content (because) I’ve done a great job.”
“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.” He said “We’re going to win,” he told campaign staff via a conference call from Las Vegas.He further said “I wouldn’t have told you that maybe two or three weeks ago,” referring to the days when he was hospitalised with Covid-19.
However, he said he felt better now, “We’re in the best shape we’ve ever been,” he said.
Mr Trump blasted his government’s own scientific experts describing them as too negative, even as his handling of the pandemic that has killed nearly 220,000 Americans remains a central issue to voters.
“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” the president said of the government’s top infectious disease experts.
“Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb. But there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him. But Fauci’s a disaster.”
Speaking at his rally, Mr Trump also shifted attacks on the news media, specifically pointing out NBC’s Kristen Welker, the moderator of the next presidential debate, as well as CNN for covering a pandemic that is now infecting tens of thousands of Americans every day.
