In the wide-ranging interview conducted Friday, Fauci said the U.S. was "in for a whole lot of hurt" going into the fall and winter, with people congregating at indoors. "You could not possibly be positioned more poorly," he noted.
On presidential candidate Joe Biden's approach to the pandemic, Fauci said the Democrat's campaign "is taking it seriously from a public health perspective."
President Trump is "looking at it from a different perspective," on "the economy and reopening the country," Fauci said.
On Atlas, a radiologist, Fauci said: "I have real problems with that guy. He's a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense."
Twitter took down a tweet by Atlas for making false claims about face masks in October. He also made false comments on herd immunity.
White House Judd Deere said in a statement to news outlets, "It's unacceptable and breaking with all norms for
Dr. Fauci, a senior member of the President's Coronavirus Taskforce and someone who has praised President Trump's actions throughout this pandemic, to choose three days before an election to play politics.
"As a member of the Task Force, Dr. Fauci has a duty to express concerns or push for a change in strategy, but he's not done that, instead choosing to criticize the President in the media and make his political leanings known by praising the President's opponent."