Daily US Times: The White House has accused doctor Anthony Fauci, a leading infectious disease expert, of playing politics days before the election in an interview about the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Fauci told the Washington Post the United States was in for a “whole lot of hurt.”

He also offered an assessment of how both President Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are approaching the pandemic.

The US has recorded more cases and deaths than any other country.

Deaths in the US have now passed 230,000, while more than nine million cases have been registered, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.

In his interview with Washington Post published, Dr Fauci warned that “all the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors.” The interview was published on Saturday night.

Dr Fauci added: “You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”

When he was asked about the approaches of the both presidential candidates, Dr Fauci said Mr Biden was “taking it seriously from a public health perspective”, while President Trump was “looking at it from a different perspective… the economy and reopening the country”.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease said the US needed to make an “abrupt change” in public health practices and behaviors.

His interview drew a sharp rebuke from the White House, which accused the infectious diseases expert of attempting to bolster Mr Biden’s bid for the presidency.

Spokesman Judd Deere said the comments were “unacceptable and breaking with all norms”.

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