Trump reveals private Biden call he says was 'well received', but one warning went ignored
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump revealed what he described as a previously little-known private conversation with former President Joe Biden, claiming he personally warned his successor against giving Anthony Fauci greater influence over the federal Covid response.
In a lengthy Truth Social post on Wednesday, July 29, Trump said he told Biden that Fauci either "didn't have a clue, or was dishonest," and, in an unexpected detail given their bitter political rivalry, claimed the call was "well received."
Trump said his warning was ultimately "not acted on," accusing Biden of subsequently giving Fauci "vast destructive power."
The disclosure came as Fauci returned to the center of Washington's pandemic debate, with Republicans renewing scrutiny of his Covid-era record.
Trump recounts unusual Biden exchange
Trump did not say precisely when the conversation occurred or provide additional details about what Biden allegedly said during the call. The former president's account could not immediately be independently verified.
"I called Biden to tell him Fauci was no good, either didn't have a clue, or was dishonest," Trump wrote. "The call was well received, but sadly, not acted on."
Trump argued that he had increasingly sidelined Fauci during his first administration after becoming dissatisfied with his recommendations, while Biden took the opposite approach after entering office.
Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades and became one of America's most recognizable public-health officials during the pandemic.
His relationship with Trump deteriorated as the two publicly differed over elements of the federal response. Under Biden, Fauci served as chief medical adviser to the president until leaving government in 2022.
Fauci feud erupts once again
Trump's disclosure was buried inside a much broader attack on Fauci, in which he defended his own pandemic record and hailed Operation Warp Speed as a "spectacular success."
The renewed criticism comes as Fauci faces fresh Republican scrutiny in Washington. On Wednesday, he invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions during a Republican-led Senate hearing examining his pandemic-era conduct.
Trump also revived disputes over masks, shutdowns and Covid's origins, while claiming more Americans died from the virus during Biden's presidency than during his own.
CDC mortality data do show that substantial numbers of recorded US Covid deaths occurred after Biden took office, although comparing presidential totals without accounting for different time periods, variants, vaccine availability and waves of transmission does not by itself establish which administration handled the pandemic more effectively.
