Associated Press/Patrick Semansky Top US infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci defended White House coronavirus czar Dr. Deborah Birx after President Donald Trump criticized her for her stark assessment of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, Birx said that the US is entering a "new phase" of the pandemic, as surges in cases can be attributed to asymptomatic carriers who don't know they are infected and make it much more difficult to identify, isolate, and contact trace the virus within communities. Trump took Birx's analysis as a criticism of the US pandemic response, accusing her of offering such a grim assessment to curry favor with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has condemned the coronavirus czar for not doing enough to confront the president's faulty claims on the pandemic. During a virtual press conference, Dr.