Trump had liked Dr. Fauci—for about ten minutes. Then he had decided, as most everyone in the White House did, that Fauci was a showboat who liked seeing his face on television. He hated the way Fauci always talked about worst-case scenarios and thought his statements scared people, hurting the economy and Trump’s reelection chances. Fauci would say, of course, that he was just telling the truth as he saw it. But he was also exceptionally savvy at handling the media, and they adored him.
