Newly released journal entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, offer an unfiltered look into his mounting disillusionment with then-President Donald Trump during the initial year of the Covid-19 pandemic. The diaries, made public by a Republican senator, reveal Fauci's private frustrations, describing Trump using terms such as 'rambling', 'crazy', 'desperate', and 'an idiot' amid the unfolding health crisis.
From the earliest days of the pandemic, Fauci documented challenging interactions with a president he perceived as fixated on publicity. An entry from 27 February 2020 recounts a late-night call where Fauci advised Trump not to underplay the seriousness of the situation. He even suggested that honesty about potential severe problems, even if impacting the stock market, would garner more respect and potentially aid re-election chances. However, Fauci noted that the next day, Trump 'again underplayed it'.
By mid-March 2020, as the first Covid shutdowns began, Fauci expressed exasperation with Trump's focus on 'the fluff of ratings and publicity', lamenting the demand for multiple daily press conferences that left little time for actual work. Later entries, such as one from 22 May, show Fauci's concern that Trump was 'getting out of control in pushing to open up the country and get the economy back before election day', attributing this desperation to his re-election campaign.
The diaries also touch on Fauci's interactions with the press, including a 'long conversation on 'background'' with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in May 2020, for a book on the early US Covid response. Fauci admitted to being a source himself, while simultaneously worrying about being suspected as a leaker.
The release of these private writings was orchestrated by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a long-standing critic of Fauci's leadership during the Covid-19 response. Paul has previously accused Fauci of mismanaging the pandemic response and covering up the origins of the virus. The two men have a history of public clashes, with Fauci once telling Paul at a Senate hearing that his attacks endangered his life and family.
Dr. Fauci, now 85, was compelled to appear at a hearing this week, where Senator Paul has stated his intention to ensure Fauci 'answers for his dangerous decisions and the consequences they had for millions'. The diaries provide raw, contemporaneous insights into the political pressures and personal frustrations faced by a key scientific figure at the heart of the global health crisis.