Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci as US President Donald Trump dismisses a question during an unscheduled briefing after a Coronavirus Task Force meeting at the White House on April 5, in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

After attempts to throw mud at China and WHO failed, the Trump administration, embattled with a new round of COVID-19 flare-ups, has found a new target to blame: its own scientists. 

The Trump administration's latest buck-passing tactic is meant to divert public attention from its failed control over infections, and secure itself more votes as the election nears. But experts warned it may backfire this time as Americans widely admire scientists such as Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Despite his leading role in the US fight against COVID-19, Fauci has been sidelined by the White House, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

Citing a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Post reported that Fauci "no longer briefs Trump and is never in the Oval [Office] anymore."

The report said Fauci had not spoken to Trump since "the first week of June."

This comes after the US saw flare-ups of infections last week. The country reported its highest single-day infections--more than 68,000 cases--on Friday, and its daily coronavirus death toll rose after months of decline. 

The Trump administration has failed to contain the virus before the election, which is only four months away, and Trump is losing support, said Zhang Tengjun, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, noting that the situation has propelled him to find a new scapegoat. 

"Because scientists like Fauci, rarely agree with Trump on the latter's COVID-19 prevention measures, they have become easy targets." But Zhang warned that sidelining scientists will only worsen the viral situation in the country, and will cost Trump large numbers of swing voters, as Americans admire those scientists.  

Dr. Fauci is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and, until recently, the public face of the administration's coronavirus response. In a podcast interview with the FiveThirtyEight website on Thursday, he said some cities had done well in controlling the outbreak: "But as a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we're doing great. I mean, we're just not."

Home to more than 300 million people, the US has confirmed more than 3 million COVID-19 cases, or one in every 100 people. But Liang Manchun, an associate research fellow at the Institute for Public Safety Research of Tsinghua University, said the actual COVID-19 infections would be five or ten times more, as many asymptomatic people or those who have not received testing are out there.   

Fauci has played key role in the White House decision-making, Liang said, noting it is not a smart decision to blame him at a time the US needs him most.