Topline
Diary entries attributed to Dr. Anthony Fauci from his years helping guide the federal COVID-19 response were released this week by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a longtime Fauci critic, prompting fresh criticism from Republicans who argue the former top health official appeared preoccupied with his sudden celebrity as the virus spread and shutdowns took hold.
Sen. Rand Paul made public more than 1,000 pages of diary entries he says Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote between 2019 and 2022. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Paul released more than 1,000 pages of what he says are near-daily diaries Fauci kept while in government service during the COVID-19 pandemic, which Paul claims shows what Fauci “wrote privately and what he told the country are two different stories.”
Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who became a household name in 2020 while serving as a leading member of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 task force, has long been a target of critics who say his public profile overshadowed his role in shaping the pandemic response.
In one May 2020 entry, Fauci described the “situation with my national and international fame” as “explosive and really unimaginable,” writing that he might be “the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable person in the world.” He pointed to a front-page Washington Post story and magazine profiles as examples of the attention surrounding him.
“Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me,” Fauci wrote in April 2020. In another entry from June of that year, he noted that he had been “invited to appear on Dancing with the Stars – no thanks!”
The diaries also referenced the wave of Fauci-themed merchandise that emerged during the height of his prominence. He wrote that his name and image had appeared on “bottle openers, magnets and mugs,” along with more unusual items, including “prayer candles depicting ‘St. Fauci’” and a replica of his high school basketball jersey.
“The ‘swag’ around me is getting really ridiculous,” Fauci wrote, before adding, “Geeeez!! I do not like this one bit.”
Fauci Accused Of Contradictory Public And Private Statements
Some critics have pointed out apparently contradictory statements Fauci made in public and private. Some pointed to a 2022 interview Fauci gave where he said he had “nothing to do” with school closures during the pandemic, whereas a diary entry from March 2020 says he “convinced” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio “based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools,” also saying “he should close the bars and restaurants in NYC.” Later in that diary entry, Fauci writes he “had a similar call with Ann O’Leary,” then-chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said Newsom “decided to close the schools in California as well as the bars and restaurants” based on Fauci’s television appearances. Paul, in a post on X, said Fauci was “giddy” over “‘convincing’ mayors to shut down schools.”
chief critics
Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said Fauci was like a high school nerd who “all of a sudden was the homecoming king,” while Fox News host Emily Compagno said Fauci’s diaries revealed he was “blatantly self obsessed,” according to The Daily Beast. Billionaire Elon Musk criticized Fauci on X on Monday, first writing, “Fauci smelled it and he also dealt it,” before responding to Paul’s post asking whether Fauci should “be held accountable” for his alleged “role in the origins of COVID,” writing, “Yes.” (Fauci mentions Musk in his diary, writing in December 2022 the billionaire “has started to viciously attack me with tweets on Twitter,” citing a post Musk made saying his “pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”) Some of Paul’s Republican colleagues criticized Fauci, including Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who said in a post on X Fauci “lied and destroyed lives” and “belongs in prison,” while Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, tweeted Monday: “Fauci’s lies and arrogance resulted in death, bankruptcy, & misery. He must be held accountable.”
What Did Fauci Say About Trump In His Diary Entries?
Several of Fauci’s diary entries are fiercely critical of Trump, whom Fauci portrays as uninformed and ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic. On multiple occasions, Fauci described Trump’s comments about the coronavirus in meetings and in public addresses as “rambling,” including one meeting in March 2020 where Fauci said Trump kept getting off track, talking about TV ratings “and virtually everything else as I was trying to keep him on track (with the help of the VP).” In April, Fauci wrote Trump’s “press briefings are a total S— Show with POTUS rambling.” Later in the year, as the presidential election neared, Fauci wrote Trump was “out of control” and a “total embarrassment,” saying he was “on the campaign trail spewing nonsense.” Fauci even admitted he framed his advice to Trump on COVID-19 through the lens of reelection, writing in February 2020 he told Trump “his chances for re-election might be more damaged if he downplayed the potential spread of virus in the USA,” even if taking the virus more seriously early on meant it would temporarily hurt the stock market. In that instance, and several others, Fauci describes how Trump ignored his advice. “I thought that he heard what I said, but the next day, he again underplayed” the virus, Fauci wrote in February. In another instance, Fauci wrote Trump was “incorrigible,” saying the president misrepresented data during a speech to try and get people to take the virus seriously.
tangent
Fauci also sharply criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who rose to national prominence for opposing public health restrictions during the pandemic, labeling him “a complete disgrace” in an August 2021 entry. “He is blocking the local authorities from mandating masks in various locations including schools. He is doing this while at the same time Florida is virtually on fire with surging cases,” Fauci wrote. DeSantis called Fauci’s comments a “Badge of honor!” in a tweet Monday.
key background
Paul has long accused Fauci of covering up the origins of the COVID-19 virus, which Fauci has consistently denied. In a 2021 hearing, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding research conducted in a lab in Wuhan, China, where the first cases of COVID-19 were detected, suggesting the U.S. government could be responsible if the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak is true. Fauci, in response, said Paul is “entirely and completely incorrect that the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” Paul, at a hearing a year later, cited an email exchange that he claimed showed Fauci was speaking with scientists who thought the virus came from a lab leak, while Fauci responded that the email showed him bringing together “a group of people to look at every possibility with an open mind.” Fauci wrote of some of his interactions with Paul in his diary, writing in September 2022 that during a Senate testimony, Paul was “his usual self asking hostile questions of me saying that I am denying the existence of natural immunity.” When Republicans did not take the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, Fauci noted “Rand Paul will not have the opportunity to harass me with senate oversight hearings.” In June 2022, Fauci said Paul “was his usual stupid self asking questions about royalty payments” during a Senate hearing, referring to questions Paul asked about National Institutes of Health royalty payments.
what to watch for
Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate’s oversight committee on Wednesday, where he will again face questioning by Paul, who is probing the origins of the virus. Fauci was preemptively pardoned by former President Joe Biden shortly before he left office, which Biden said was not because Fauci committed wrongdoing but instead because he feared the Trump administration would target him.
further reading
Anthony Fauci, Rand Paul to face off again in Senate hearing next week (The Washington Post)
