My new column looks at the latest eruption in this conflict:

Fauci is serving three roles: director of his agency, adviser to the administration and commentator in the media. The first role is essentially absent from the public discussion of Fauci’s merits and demerits, even though it is the most important one he plays.

The last one is the polarizing one. The president’s critics have made him their latest saintly governmental rival to Trump; previous holders of the title include James Comey and Robert Mueller.

Trump, who dislikes being criticized or contradicted even more than most politicians do, surely resents the way his opponents have idolized Fauci. . . .