President Donald Trump says his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, should not have published an op-ed attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
As he left the White House on Wednesday, Trump was asked about Navarro’s op-ed, he said, “Well, he made a statement representing himself. He shouldn’t be doing that.”
“I have a very good relationship with Anthony,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Before departing the White House, President Trump was asked what he thought of trade adviser Peter Navarro’s op-ed where he attacked Dr. Anthoney Fauci. President Trump said, “he made a statement representing himself, he shouldn’t be doing that.” pic.twitter.com/aQ20EZDCFI
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 15, 2020
On Tuesday, Navarro reportedly circumvented the White House “clearance processes” and published the piece in the USA Today.
White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah tweeted on Wednesday morning, “The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone.”
“[Trump] values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration,” she added.
The Peter Navarro op-ed didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone. @realDonaldTrump values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.
— Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) July 15, 2020
White House officials noted that Navarro regularly goes “rogue” when he makes media decisions. However, they said they were surprised by the move as they had asked him to avoid attacking Navarro.
In his op-ed, Navarro said Fauci had “been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.”
While some suggested that Trump had privately sanctioned op-ed, he said, “That’s Peter Navarro, but I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci.”