After two renowned doctors and advisers of the pandemic response team during the former president Donald Trump and his administration called them out for lax action in fighting COVID-19, the former president hit out against them with fact challenged statements. In a CNN documentary on Sunday called COVID WARS: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out, both Dr. Brix and Dr. Fauci had criticized specific actions of the earlier administration in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Fauci had said it was his decision “to go all out and develop a vaccine” and called it the best decision of his life. This drew a sharp rebuttal from Trump on Monday. The former president called them “American vaccines.” The vaccine was developed by Turkish immigrants. They founded the company BioNTech in Germany. They collaborated with giant pharma company Pfizer to manufacture it. Incidentally Pfizer didn’t receive government funds to develop the vaccine.

Trump also mentioned that Dr. Fauci was incapable of “pressing the FDA to move it through faster.” Dr. Fauci didn’t have the authority to put pressure on the FDA, in his position as director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Dr. Deborah Brix had said that they could have mitigated or decreased the number of deaths after the first surge, if they had learnt their lessons and she also mentioned a call from the former president which made her “very uncomfortable.”

Trump attacked her, bringing up a family trip she had taken the day after Thanksgiving, while the CDC was requesting Americans not to travel during the holidays. He also said that she was a terrible medical advisor, “which is why I seldom followed her advice.” He also denied that there was a “very difficult” phone call.

Trump also called them “two self-promoters.” He said that he kept Dr. Fauci and Br. Brix “on” as they had worked for the U.S. government for so long and he said that they are like a bad habit.