White House trade adviser Peter Navarro reportedly blew up at Dr. Anthony Fauci during a fraught coronavirus task force meeting

• White House trade adviser Peter Navarro blew up at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, during a fraught coronavirus task force meeting in the Situation Room on Saturday, Axios reported.
• The argument stemmed from a disagreement over how much the White House should back hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment against the coronavirus.
• Navarro reportedly touted the drug's "clear therapeutic efficiency," while Fauci warned that there was only "anecdotal evidence" of its effectiveness.
• Fauci's comments "just set Peter off," and Navarro went on to accuse Fauci of being opposed to President Donald Trump's travel restrictions on China, Axios reported.
• Fauci, who has praised Trump's actions, "looked confused."
• Vice President Mike Pence reportedly tried to calm the situation, and "everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational."
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White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, erupted into a fight during a coronavirus task force meeting on Saturday, Axios reported.

At the center of the argument was how much the White House should back the effectiveness of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine in fighting the novel coronavirus.

According to Axios, the discussion began when FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn updated the task force with what he'd seen from different drug trials and real-life results. At that point, Navarro, who has no background in science or medicine, began passing folders around and praising the "clear therapeutic efficiency" of the drug.

"Those are the exact words out of his mouth," a source familiar with the conversation told Axios.

Navarro's remarks sparked significant pushback from public health officials, including Fauci, who said the drug is still experimental and there's no concrete proof that it's an effective treatment against the coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.

Fauci also added that there's only "anecdotal evidence" suggesting hydroxychloroquine is useful against COVID-19, which "just set Peter off," a source told Axios. Navarro pointed to the folders he'd passed out and told Fauci, "That's science, not anecdote."

He then reportedly went on to accuse Fauci of opposing President Donald Trump's restrictions on travel from China in January, saying, "You were the one who early on objected to the travel restrictions with China."

Fauci, who backed the restrictions and has voiced public support for Trump's announcement, "looked confused," a source in the room told Axios. Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the task force who was present during the meeting, was trying to calm the situation, the outlet reported, and "everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational."

Eventually, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also has no medical or scientific training, told Navarro to "take yes for an answer," referring to backing hydroxychloroquine.

The "principals" on the task force agreed that the administration's public stance should be that the decision of whether to use the drug is between physicians and their patients.

"There has never been a confrontation in the task force meetings like the one yesterday," a source familiar with the argument told Axios. "People speak up and there's robust debate, but there's never been a confrontation. Yesterday was the first confrontation."

Trump ended up spending a significant part of Sunday's coronavirus task force briefing touting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.

"What do we have to lose?" Trump said. Take it. I really think they should take it. But it's their choice. And it's their doctor's choice or the doctors in the hospital. But hydroxychloroquine. Try it, if you'd like."

Near the end of the briefing, a CNN reporter directed a question about the drug to Fauci, asking, "What is the medical evidence?"

Fauci started to answer before Trump abruptly cut him off.

"Do you know how many times he's answered that question?" Trump said to the reporter. "Maybe 15."

Fauci shot a glance at the president before turning to the reporter and saying, "The question is for the doctor ... He's your medical expert, correct?"

Trump interjected again, telling the reporter, "You don't have to ask the question."

Axios' reporting and the tension during Sunday's news briefing highlights what appears to be a growing disagreement between the task force's public health experts - like Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx - and Trump's political advisers.

Specifically, health officials have been cautious about publicly pushing hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, while Trump and his political advisers have thrown their weight behind it as coronavirus continues surging across the US.

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus a pandemic on March 11. To date, the disease has infected 1,289,380 around the world and killed 70,590. In the US, there are 337,971 confirmed cases, and 9.654 people have died.

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