“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Musk wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday, echoing calls from many to investigate and potentially prosecute the 81-year-old over his role in the coronavirus pandemic.
The message went rival, earning over 1.2 million likes in less than 24 hours.
“Truth resonates,” Musk later added.
Musk also shared a meme portraying Fauci as the antagonist Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings.
Responding to Musk's comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described them as "disgusting" and "dangerous."
“These attacks, these personal attacks that we have been seeing are dangerous on Dr. Fauci and other public health officials as well, they are disgusting and they are divorced of reality,” she said during her daily briefing, adding that the White House would continue to defend him from criticism.
“We will continue to call that out and be very clear about that, again, these are incredibly dangerous, these personal attacks that we are seeing,” she said.
Jean-Pierre added that America was “fortunate” to have benefitted from the “life and exceptional talent” of Fauci's work.
The spat is merely the latest between Musk and the Biden administration, which has responded negatively to private takeover and Twitter. Last month, Biden indicated he would investigate the takeover agreement and his relationships with other countries around the world.
“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden said at the time. “Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. It warrants being looked at.”
