A heated argument broke out in the White House Situation Room over the weekend between Dr. Anthony Fauci and another member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, with the exchange getting so intense that Vice President Mike Pence and others were left trying to calm down the country’s trade czar, according to a report.
The argument, which Axios reports took place Saturday afternoon, ensued when FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn brought up the topic of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug Trump believes could help fight the virus.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro then stood up and distributed reading materials on what he argued was the “clear therapeutic efficacy” of the potential COVID-19 drug.
Navarro’s comments, according to the outlet, led to a heated debate about how the White House should talk about the malaria treatment, with Fauci stressing that there was only anecdotal evidence that the medicine could combat coronavirus.
Fauci’s comment about anecdotal evidence “just set Peter off,” a source told Axios.
Navarro pointed to the handouts, which reportedly included printouts of studies on hydroxychloroquine from around the world, and said to Fauci, “That’s science, not anecdote.”
The trade czar and frequent China critic then began raising his voice and falsely accusing Fauci of objecting to Trump’s travel restrictions against China.
The accusation apparently left Fauci confused, as he has publicly praised the commander-in-chief’s travel ban after it was announced.
As the vice president began trying to moderate the argument, one source said, “It was pretty clear that everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational.”
In an interview with CNN’s John Berman on Monday morning, Navarro said his Harvard PhD in economics made him qualified to understand statistical data and disagree with Fauci.
“Doctors disagree about things all the time. My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I’m a social scientist,” Navarro told Berman.
“I have a PhD and I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it’s in medicine, the law, economics or whatever,” he added.
A Pence spokesperson declined to comment on the dust-up to The Post, saying, “We don’t comment on meetings in the Situation Room.”