Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, said the USA Today editorial, written by White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, was "a major mistake on their part." "
Speaking to the Atlantic Council on Wednesday, Fauci said, "I think if you sit down and talk to the people who are on the list that has been posted, they are really, I think, baffled by the big mistake that was committed. "
"If you talk to reasonable people in the White House, they realize that it was a major mistake on their part, because it does nothing but reflect badly on them," he said.
The editorial did not follow the normal approval process because it was revised and approved by the White House press service, a White House official told CNN on Tuesday.
Fauci didn't think it was their intention, but said, "I can't understand in my wildest dreams why they would want to do this. I think they realize now that it was not a prudent thing to do, as it only reflects negatively on them. "
Fauci went on to say that he had no explanation for Navarro: "He is in a world alone. So I don't even want to go. "
