I inherited him: Trump says of Fauci

Washington: US President Donald Trump has questioned the value of Anthony Fauci to the White House coronavirus task force, saying that he "inherited" the country's top infectious disease expert, the media reported.

"I disagree with a lot of what he said," The Hill news website quoted Trump saying in a Fox News interview on Monday when asked if he would put Fauci "front and centre" in the pandemic response if he could do it again.

"I get along with him, but every once in a while, he'll come up with one that I say, 'Where did that come from?'. "I inherited him. He was here. He was part of this huge piece of machine," the President added.

Trump has repeatedly undermined and criticized Fauci, Director of the US National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Last month, he retweeted a message that said Fauci "has misled the American public on many issues, but in particular, on dismissing #hydroxychloroquine and calling Remdesivir the new gold standard". He also has said that Fauci is a nice man but has "made a lot of mistakes".