Anthony Fauci lets loose on 'infinitely lying' Trump in COVID diary - USA Today

What the report says

USA Today reported that newly released diary entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci show the former top U.S. infectious disease official sharply criticizing Donald Trump during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The entries, kept electronically while Fauci led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, include descriptions of Trump as “out of control,” a “true embarrassment” and “an idiot,” according to the report.

The documents total more than 1,100 pages and cover entries from December 2019 through December 2022. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released them after obtaining the material by subpoena as part of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee inquiry into COVID-19’s origins. USA Today said the release came before Fauci’s scheduled July 29 subpoenaed appearance before the committee, which Paul chairs.

According to the report, Fauci’s notes describe growing tension with Trump over reopening the country, public health messaging, television appearances by Fauci and Deborah Birx, and Trump’s public criticism of Fauci before the 2020 election. Fauci also wrote about his sudden national prominence, noting extensive media attention and profiles that made him one of the most recognizable public figures of the pandemic.

USA Today also reported Trump’s response during a July 28 Fox News appearance, in which he said Fauci favored broader shutdowns and that he disagreed with that approach. Fauci served under seven presidents and remained NIAID director under President Joe Biden before leaving government at the end of 2022. The diary release adds new contemporaneous detail to a relationship that became a major political flashpoint during and after the pandemic.