Republican led anti-Trump PAC sends misleading message about president's intention to fire Fauci

The recently founded political action committee The Lincoln Project sent an email Thursday to supporters urging them to stand behind White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci, amid concerns President Trump was ready to fire him.

The email was sent in response to a Twitter post that Trump retweeted Sunday that included the hashtag #FireFauci.

However, Trump made clear on Monday – three days before the Lincoln Project email was sent – that he had no intentions of firing Fauci, which suggest the group attempted to use misinformation in the solicitation. 

"We knew this was coming. Donald Trump recently retweeted a suggestion that Dr. Fauci, the director of the Centers for Desease Control, should be fired," reads the email, which misidentifies Fauci's title and misspells the word Disease.

Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 

Trump said Monday at the start of the daily coronavirus task force briefing: “Today I walk in and I hear I’m going to fire him (Fauci). I’m not firing – I think he’s a wonderful guy.”

The email asks recipients to sign a petition to ask Senate Republicans to stand behind Fauci. 

"As you surely know, Dr. Fauci has emerged as a desperately needed voice of reason and steady leadership in a time of crisis. He is the only qualified man in this administration willing to stand up to a dangerously unfit president," the email also reads.

The PAC’s website states its mission is to “defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box.”

Founding group members include George Conway, prominent Republican lawyer and husband to White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. The email is signed by Reed Galen, a former Republican political strategist.