Trump Takes Swipes at Fauci, Calls Him a Democrat

Speaking on "CBS Evening News", the nation's top infectious disease expert warned "you may have to bite that bullet and sacrifice that social gathering". He said they live in three different states and would have to each come through separate airports and decided it was not worth the risk.

He offered a reminder that Dr Fauci at one point said that people should not wear a mask.

"They sound very simple, but people are not doing that and that's why we have an uptick in cases", he said. "It is unfortunate, because that's such a sacred part of American tradition - the family gathering around Thanksgiving".

"That is unfortunately a risk, when you have people coming from out of town, gathering together in an indoor setting", he said.

Fauci went on to say that gathering with family members who have "very recently" been tested for COVID-19 or who are "living a lifestyle in which they don't have any interaction with anybody except you and your family" would be "relatively safe", but he stressed the risk of having family members travel from out of state to celebrate.

Trump called Fauci a "friend" and a "nice guy" before making up quotes that the doctor never said.

'So we don't wear them, ' Trump said.

Fauci, who has described the assaults towards him as "weird", pushed again on that criticism on Monday, saying he was extra of a "realist". "There's a great deal of variability", he said.

The president and his aide Hope Hicks, who was also recently infected with the coronavirus, did not wear masks Thursday.

Fauci's role as a top adviser for the government on health concerns has spanned six presidents and has focused on research for a multitude of viruses and illnesses, including HIV, AIDS, SARS, Zika, Ebola, tuberculosis, and malaria.

President Donald Trump lashed out at Dr. 'I'll let you know, one day I'll write a little book and I'll tell you who the good ones were'.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has issued a new Thanksgiving warning when it comes to holding large family gatherings. "But what we're seeing as the increasing threat right now is actually acquisition of infection through small household gatherings". "Particularly with Thanksgiving coming up, we think it's really important to stress the vigilance of these continued mitigation steps in the household setting".

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 216,000 Americans have died of complications related to COVID-19, and almost 8 million have been infected.