Trump retweeted a Republican who called for the country's top infectious disease expert to be fired after he said lives could have been saved if the government acted more quickly to stop the threat of the coronavirus.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Sunday the Trump administration could have saved more lives if social-distancing restrictions were implemented sooner.
Later that day, Trump retweeted a message from a former Republican congressional candidate attacking Fauci.
"Fauci is now saying that had Trump listened to the medical experts earlier he could've saved more lives," tweeted DeAnna Lorraine, who challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large. Time to #FireFauci," the tweet continued.
Trump and Fauci have repeatedly denied there is tension between them.
In a March interview with Fox News, Trump called Fauci "extraordinary" and said "we get along very well."
Comment: Adopted social distancing sooner? Does it even work? See: