Donald Trump maintains he has a "very good relationship" with the country's top COVID-19 advisor, but has wondered aloud why the doctor's approval rating is so high compared to his own.
In a media briefing on Tuesday (US time), the US President said he gets along with Dr Anthony Fauci "very well" despite retweeting a message claiming he'd "misled the American public on many issues" on Monday.
The Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had previously clashed with President Trump over whether the drug hydroxychloroquine was effective in treating COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Trump said he "liked" the fact Dr Fauci is well thought of by Americans, before questioning why he wasn't rated as well in regard to his handling of coronavirus.
"You know, it's interesting, he's got a very good approval rating, and I like that. It's good, 'cause remember, he's working for this administration, he's working for us," Trump said on Tuesday.
"He's got a high approval rating, so why don't I have a high approval rating with respect to the virus?
"It sort of is curious; a man works for us, with us, very closely - Dr Fauci and Dr Birx also, very highly thought of - and yet, they're highly thought of, but nobody likes me?"
"It can only be my personality, that's all."
Dr Fauci responded to President Trump's retweet on Tuesday saying he is "not misleading the American public under any circumstances."
"We are in the middle of a crisis with regard to an epidemic, a pandemic. This is what I do. This is what I've been trained for my entire professional life and I'll continue to do it," he told ABC's Good Morning America.
