President Donald Trump suggested he might fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, after supporters at a late-night Florida campaign rally began chanting for his dismissal.

The remarks came during a rally at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport that stretched into the early hours of Monday, just one day before the presidential election.

As Trump complained about news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of supporters began chanting, "Fire Fauci!"

Rather than reject the suggestion, Trump responded, "Don't tell anybody, but let me wait till a little bit after the election."

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Trump continued criticizing Fauci, claiming the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had been wrong about numerous aspects of the pandemic.

The confrontation comes as the United States experiences another alarming surge in coronavirus infections. More than 230,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, and the country is reporting record numbers of new cases.

Fauci recently warned that Americans face a difficult winter, telling The Washington Post that the country is poorly positioned to control the accelerating outbreak.

The White House responded by publicly criticizing Fauci, further exposing divisions between the president and his own administration's public health experts.

Trump, meanwhile, continues insisting that the country is turning a corner on the pandemic, despite rising infections and hospitalizations across numerous states.

The Florida rally itself drew thousands of supporters, many without masks, and continued beyond Miami-Dade County's midnight coronavirus curfew.

Although Trump suggested he might dismiss Fauci, the president does not have straightforward authority to fire him directly because Fauci is a career federal employee rather than a presidential political appointee.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has made Trump's handling of the pandemic a central issue in the election, arguing that the administration has failed to follow scientific guidance.

With Americans preparing to vote Tuesday, Trump's willingness to entertain firing the nation's most prominent infectious disease expert has brought renewed attention to his administration's response to a pandemic that continues to claim hundreds of American lives every day.