Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a trusted source for governmental information on the coronavirus, has received threats deemed credible enough to merit additional security for him and his family, reports HuffPost via Yahoo.

Recently, republicans, including members of the Administration, have endeavored to undermine Fauci’s reputation and public trust, including having a senior White House official write an opinion piece labelling Fauci unreliable.

A respected public health professional and medical researcher, Fauci is seen as far more trustworthy than President Trump when it comes to matters of information on the coronavirus. 67% of respondents in a recent poll say they don’t trust Trump, but 65% trust Fauci.

Trump reportedly sees Fauci as a threat to both his reputation and his reelection chances.  In recently White House briefings on the coronavirus, Trump has appeared alone without any medical professionals or scientists, excluding Drs. Fauci and Deborah Birx.

Fauci said he received similar threats while he was researching the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980s, but the volume and ferocity have increased greatly this time around.

“It’s really a magnitude different now,” he told David Axelrod on Axelrod’s podcast, “The Axe Files.”  “As much as people inappropriately, I think, make me somewhat of a hero … there are people who get really angry at thinking I’m interfering with their life because I’m pushing a public health agenda.”