(AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Friday that he has revoked security protection for Anthony Fauci, his former Covid advisor who has received death threats over his handling of the pandemic. “You can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you worked for government,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina, where he was on a visit to inspect flood damage.
Trump withdrew Secret Service protection earlier this week from his former national security advisor John Bolton. The New York Times said the president had also revoked government security provided to his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and a top Pompeo aide, Brian Hook.
Asked by a reporter whether he would feel partially responsible if anything happened to Fauci or Bolton, Trump said: “No.” “Certainly I would not take responsibility,” he said. “They all made a lot of money,” Trump said. “They can hire their own security.”
“I can give them some good numbers of very good security people,” the president said. “Fauci made a lot of money.” According to the Times, Fauci’s security protection was canceled on Thursday and he has hired his own security detail. Fauci, who led the country’s fight against the Covid pandemic during Trump’s first term, has become a hated figure for many on the right and has received numerous death threats.
Former president Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci on Monday before leaving office. Bolton, who has been the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot, has become one of Trump’s most outspoken critics since leaving the White House. The State Department has announced a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest of the alleged Iranian mastermind behind the plot to assassinate Bolton.
US officials have also accused Iran of seeking to assassinate Trump to avenge the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in a US drone strike.
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