Billionaire Elon Musk's public condemnation of top US health official Anthony Fauci is “dangerous” and “disgusting” and should be called out, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.
“They are disgusting, and they are divorced from reality, and we will continue to call that out and be very clear about that,” Ms Jean-Pierre said.
She praised Dr Fauci's handling of public heath crises, including the coronavirus pandemic.
At the weekend, Mr Musk had tweeted: “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”
As the tweet went viral, the chief executive of Twitter and electric car maker Tesla replied to his own post, saying: “Truth resonates.”
Dr Fauci, who said he planned to retire in December as President Joe Biden's top medical adviser and top US infectious disease official, has dealt with the thorny questions around health crises from HIV/Aids to avian flu to Ebola.
The veteran immunologist has served as an adviser to seven US presidents, beginning with Republican Ronald Reagan, and has been in public service for more than 50 years.
But it was his handling of Covid — and his blunt assessments from the White House podium that Americans needed to change their behaviour in light of the pandemic — that made him a hero to public health advocates while serving under former president Donald Trump, a villain to some on the right and an unusual celebrity among bureaucratic officials used to toiling in obscurity.
The US leads the world in recorded Covid-19 deaths with more than one million.
Dr Fauci has said he has faced death threats. He endured criticism from Mr Trump and from various conservatives who objected to safeguards such as vaccination, social distancing and masking that he advocated to try to limit the lethality of the pandemic.
Republicans also threatened to probe Dr Fauci if they got control of Congress in the midterm elections, in which they won control of the House of Representatives while the Democrats narrowly retained control of the Senate.
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Italian sculptor Sergio Furnari poses for pictures in front of 'The Hero Monument' heart sculpture on October 25, 2021, in New York. AP -
The Washington Monument where US President Joe Biden hosts a memorial to honour those who died from Covid-19 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, January 19, 2021. Reuters -
A woman takes selfies with her daughter in front of 'The Hero Monument' in New York. AP -
Italian sculptor Sergio Furnari stands next to his car near 'The Hero Monument' sculpture in Manhattan, New York. AP -
Christopher Edwards holds up a memorial to those who died from Covid-19, including his grandmother, Brenda Meadows, in Washington, May 5, 2021. AFP -
A woman and child look at the 'Naming the Lost Memorials' at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Reuters -
Faces of victims of Covid-19 are projected on to the Brooklyn Bridge on March 14, 2021, in New York. Getty Images via AFP -
Artist Suzanne Firstenberg's temporary art installation, 'In America: Remember' in Washington, September 17, 2021. AP -
A cyclist rides past the 'In America: Remember' memorial. Reuters -
One of the flags that make up the 'In America: Remember' installation. AP -
Visitors mourn at the 'In America: Remember' memorial. AP -
The memorial with the Washington Monument in the background. AP -
An aerial view of the memorial. AP -
A flag with a message for a loved one. AP -
The installation consisted of more than 600,000 flags. AP -
A mourner visits the memorial. AP -
A visitor sits on a bench near the memorial. AP -
Two people hug as they look at the thousands of white flags. Reuters -
Part of artist Suzanne Firstenberg's temporary art installation. AP -
Hundreds of Covid survivors march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, August 7, 2021, in New York. AP -
A woman holds an image of her husband as hundreds of Covid survivors gather at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn. AP -
A sign at a Covid survivors' march in New York. AP -
US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive for a memorial for victims of Covid-19 in Washington. Getty Images / AFP -
The Washington Covid-19 Memorial. Photo: National Parks Service -
The Washington Covid-19 Memorial. Photo: National Parks Service
