President Trump’s attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci being ignored by Senate Republicans

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US President Donald Trump’s pre-election broadsides against Dr. Anthony Fauci drew a little buy-in Tuesday from Capitol Hill. It is because Senate Republicans tried preventing linking themselves too closely to the name-calling from the President and the overall COVID-19 response of the White House. The president’s allies see little use in attacking Fauci as the party struggles to win over voters and keep the Senate majority two weeks before the election. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t necessarily stand up for Fauci after Trump derided the National Institute for Health official as one of the Idiots leading the country’s coronavirus response. But, McConnell said there’s no doubt the virus is surging in his own home state of Kentucky and beyond.

McConnell was holding up his own mask presenting a public health message similar to Dr. Fauci. He said, “The one thing we all need to do is wear a mask, practice social distancing, try to prevent the spread. The only thing each of us can do until we get a vaccine, is act as responsibly as possible”. Trump’s own COVID-19 diagnosis following a Rose Garden event at the White House sent ripples to Capitol Hill. 2 Republican senators tested positive, attended the Sept. 26 announcement of Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Republicans are facing an uphill election fight to hold on to the Senate as Trump heads out for big campaign rallies.

It is noteworthy that President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis along with his first debate performance against Joe Biden reportedly caused such a downturn as some Republican strategists warned there was almost no way to recover. But Republican senators are unable to break with Trump without risking the scorn of his base of supporters in their states and they want to stay engaged this election season. They are also unable to stand too closely beside the President if they hope to draw in voters in their states who prefer Biden. On Tuesday, Trump insisted that he gets along with Fauci and complained on Fox & Friends that the doctor isn’t a team player.