If Trump fires Dr. Fauci, a hospital in Italy wants to hire him: 'The world needs him'

Over the weekend, United States President Donald Trump reposted a tweet calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on the Coronavirus pandemic, to be fired. Earlier, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director had suggested that the federal government could have acted sooner to mitigate the impact of the novel virus. While the future of Dr. Fauci's role on the US' task force is uncertain, a hospital in Italy has expressed their desire to hire him, ABC News reports. Dr. Giuseppe Ippolito, the scientific director of Italy’s leading infectious disease hospital Lazzaro Spallanzani, affirmed, "The world needs Fauci."

Dr. Ippolito, in an interview with The Associated Press, said, "There is no one else who has written the history of medicine and infectious diseases like Tony Fauci. There is no one else who has been able to write about, and to decrypt, the secrets of infectious diseases." Referring to Trump's suggestive tweet, he claimed that politicians only wanted to hire "servants" and didn't truly understand the value of science. "Politicians don’t like uncomfortable scientists, they always want servile scientists," he stated. "The value of science instead is to say uncomfortable things too, in all contexts and always, because the principle is to defend science, not to please politicians."

Additionally, the scientific director wrote a letter to the Italian president and other officials, including the Italian premier, health minister, foreign minister, and local regional authorities, urging them to "welcome Dr. Fauci with open arms." In the letter, he said he "would be honored" to bring Dr. Fauci on as an adviser and praised Dr. Fauci's "expertise, experience, leadership, and 'generous and selfless help'" to Lazzaro Spallanzani hospital and other medical institutions across the globe. He claimed it was "a generosity that we like to associate [with] his Italian heritage, always remembered with pride." Furthermore, Dr. Ippolito stated that firing the NIAID director would be a grave mistake. He affirmed, "[It] would be disastrous news not only for the United States but for the whole international community."

He also praised Dr. Fauci's experience dealing with SARS, HIV, Ebola, and Zika outbreaks as well as how he was able to train a generation of nurses and doctors. Dr. Ippolito wrote, "[He] has saved the lives of millions of women, men and children in the United States and all over the world." Needless to say, the wealth of knowledge that the expert brings to the table is unparalleled and the world, without a doubt, needs his expertise in order to overcome the ongoing outbreak. Therefore, he affirmed during the interview with The Associated Press, "The world needs Fauci. America needs Fauci."

Nonetheless, President Trump on Monday insisted that Dr. Fauci's job on the US Coronavirus task force was safe. Republicans close to the White House, on the other hand, have claimed that the President has attempted to leave the director out of daily briefings and has complained about the positive media attention he has received in the recent past. Further to this, there are concerns about Dr. Fauci becoming Trump's "yes man." At a recent press conference, nonetheless, he asserted, "Everything I do is voluntary." Hopefully, it remains this way as we move further along the pandemic curve.