Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had withdrawn the protective gear he had enjoyed for several years from his former Covid advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, due to death threats made against him.
The 84-year-old scientist and former senior American official became the face of the American response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and received death threats during this time.
Known for his outspokenness, he had often contradicted Donald Trump, and is reviled by part of the right but also by conspiracy and anti-vax movements.
"You can't get protection for the rest of your life just because you worked for the government," Trump said Friday at a news conference in North Carolina.
Dr. Fauci is the latest former senior official to lose his protection since the Republican's return to power.
Donald Trump's former White House national security adviser, John Bolton, and his former chief diplomat, Mike Pompeo, have been subject to similar measures.
"They all made a lot of money, they can hire a private security service," assured the American president, before adding: "I can give them some numbers of very good security agents."
Asked by a reporter what would happen if something happened to one of them, the Republican said: "I certainly wouldn't take responsibility for it."
According to US media reports, Mr Fauci has hired a private security team to ensure his protection.
The scientist led the US National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 38 years and advised Donald Trump and then Joe Biden. He played a role in the fights against Covid-19 and AIDS.
He was among the elected officials and former civil servants to be preemptively pardoned by Joe Biden just before he left the White House.
A procedure justified by the Democrat to spare them “partisan” investigations or prosecutions, and strongly criticized by Donald Trump.
While thanking Joe Biden for his gesture, Anthony Fauci assured Monday that he had "committed no crime" likely to motivate "an investigation or criminal prosecution."
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