(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Less than 15 days until Election Day and President Donald Trump has increased his attacks on Doctor Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases.

In an all-staff campaign call on Monday, the president ripped the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, saying Americans are “over COVID” and belittled the severity of the pandemic.

“People are tired of COVID. Yep, there’s gonna be spikes, there’s gonna be no spikes, there’s gonna be vaccines—with or without vaccines, people are tired of COVID,” President Trump said in the call.  “I have the biggest rallies I’ve ever had and we have COVID. People are saying whatever, just leave us alone. They’re tired of it.”

The president also expressed dismay that he cannot fire Dr. Fauci, saying it would be a “bigger bomb” if he was dismissed.

“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots — these, these people, these people that have gotten it wrong,” he said.  “Fauci’s a disaster, I mean this guy, if I listened to him we’d have 500,000 deaths.”

When reminded that reporters were listening to the call, the president quipped, “If there’s a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it, I couldn’t care less.”

As for who he thinks is doing their job properly, the president said, “I love Mark Meadows, and Mark Meadows is doing a great job.”

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