It has been reported that White House Economic Advisor Peter Navarro got into a shouting match with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top immunologist and expert on infectious diseases. Donald Trump has continually-- and recklessly touted the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as possible treatment for COVID-19, even though the vast majority of the medical community say that reports of its efficacy are anecdotal and many months of additional research are needed before any claims can be made.
Trump's continued tweets and public statements about the drug have led to worldwide shortages of the drug, which is actually needed to treat Lupus patients.
Navarro was asked on CNN why he is more qualified to talk about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine than Dr. Anthony Fauci. "My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I'm a social scientist," he stated with a straight face. "I have a PhD, and I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it's in medicine, the law, economics or whatever." It's a credit to John Berman's professionalism that he didn't laugh in Navarro's face.
What are his qualifications exactly? Navarro earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1972, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard in 1979 and a PhD in Economics from Harvard in 1986. He had a long-time career as a minor Californian academic at U.C. Davis with a string of books to his name, many attacking China's role in the world economy-- which is when Jared Kushner discovered his book "Death by China" on Amazon.com. One thing led to another, and he ended up as Trump's economic advisor-- a position not subject to Senate confirmation. In that role, Navarro has proven a reliable, if thin-skinned, warrior for Trump on television.
In particular Navarro has spoken up for tariffs, denying repeatedly that they are bad for the U.S. economy, and trying to offer cover to the president's claim that they are not paid by U.S. purchasers but by foreign importers-- a claim which is derided as untrue by economists worldwide. After Navarro become a White House official, it was discovered that a person quoted in five of Navarro's books ("Ron Vera") was, in fact, a false persona that Navarro made up to bolster the economic arguments in his books.
So how did Navarro get involved in a blow-up with an actual scientist like Fauci? At a Saturday meeting of the coronavirus task force, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn began a discussion on hydroxychloroquine – giving an update about the malaria drug and the results of different trials across the globe. Navarro, who is not a member of the task force, managed to wrangle a meeting invitation courtesy of Jared Kushner, who has been attempting to involve himself (very unsuccessfully) in the coronavirus effort. The misinformed economist unwisely jumped into the task force conversation, saying that the studies that he's seen, he believed they're mostly overseas-- showed 'clear therapeutic efficacy.''
The vast majority of public health officials worldwide, including Fauci, have stressed that hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness in treating COVID-19 is unproven and that more data is needed. After Navarro's unwelcome remarks, Fauci-- the federal government's top immunologist and expert on infectious diseases-- pushed back. He pointed out that the international studies, like the ones from France and China touted by Navarro, are inadequate because there were no control groups.
When Fauci implied that the evidence was anecdotal, it 'just set Peter off,' a person present at the meeting told Axios. Navarro then pointed to a stack of printouts of international studies on the drug and said in a loud voice, "That's science, not anecdote!" The source familiar with the task force's inner workings said it was the biggest clash the group had seen since it's inception.
Navarro then accused Fauci of objecting to Trump's travel restrictions in light of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year. "You were the one who early on objected to the travel restrictions with China,' Navarro shouted. The other attendees appeared confused by the accusation, as Fauci had previously praised Trump's travel restriction on China when it was announced.
Many believe that Navarro's emotional outburst resulted from his over-investment of time and resources in sourcing hydroxychloroquine from around the world as part of his newly-found role as coordinator of implementing Defense Production Act policy.
During an impromptu press briefing the next day, Trump stopped Fauci from answering a question from a reporter about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. When reporters tried to get Fauci's opinion on the drug – after he previously warned against seeing the malaria medication as a wonder drug – Trump stepped in and stopped the question. Looks like Trump is more interest in pacifying Jared's friend than sticking up for a real scientist.
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