Fauci was obsessed with his own fame as he led the nation to lockdowns, double-masking, social distancing during Covid: diaries

Fauci worked first under the Trump administration and then under President Joe Biden. Throughout the diaries, he lists his media appearances. By 2025, 17 state attorneys general sought to investigate him over his Covid response.

In April 2020, he wrote, "Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me. The debate about the use of HC still dominating the discussion. Big article in the Washington Post about the long relationship between Deb Birx and me." He went on to say in that entry, "Big challenge today is to firm up a plan on how to approach to re-opening of the country. I am concerned that there really is no plan and no one is really in charge."

In May 2020, Fauci wrote, "Big front page article ab[o]ut me appeared in the Washington Post. Very flattering. The situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyoperbole [stet] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson [stet] in the world.

"Countless profiles on me in multiple media. I cannot even read all the things that are written abuyt me since I am so busy….seriously. POTUS seems to be enamored of me even though I am taking the spotlight away from him. We are developing a very unique and interesting relationship. The entire secret service corps is coming over to me and chatting. They let me into the first gate without even checking ID. Everyone is worried about my health and welfare, probably because it is all over the place that I am almost 80 years old."

Again in May of that year, Fauci opined on his own fame, saying, "Apparently the WH is very upset that I am being profiled and it looks like I am putting down the POTUS [President Trump] and becoming a star that outshines him. The press is playing into this as is the tweet storm. Very stressful!!"

In November, as he urged Americans not to travel and see loved ones for Thanksgiving, he appeared to then-President-elect Joe Biden for delivering a message against Thanksgiving gatherings, saying, "Very concerned that the travel over Thanksgiving will exacerbate the current surge. Some states that are mitigating (IL, NM) and doing much better than those that are not (IN, SD)." Then a few days later: "Ron Klain texted me last night after midnight. I was asleep. He sent me video of Joe and Jill giving Thanksgiving message to be careful over Thanksgiving. I will speak with Ron Today."

Just as he encouraged people to not gather, he said, "Went on a walk with Will and Joli to Mall and was 'mobbed' by well-wishers who wanted photos with me. Went to the steps of Lincoln Memorial and read the speech of Lincoln on the opposite wall of the Gettysburg Address. Strikingly referable to today: 'Men who worship the same God can be so far apart on fundamental issues...’”

Early entries, in January 2020, discuss outbreaks of illness in Wuhan, China, the location of the Wuhan Virology Lab that became the focus of the debate over the locus of the Covid outbreak. Fauci will likely be asked about the "lab leak" of Covid in Wuhan and the US funding of gain of function research that many believe led to the creation of Covid. Wuhan is mentioned over 65 times in his journals, from Fauci's tracking of illnesses in Wuhan to his talks attempting to debunk the "lab leak" theory.

Fauci is set to testify before the Senate this week about his handling of the Covid crisis. His diaries will likely take center stage for Paul, who has been a critic of the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since he began to take center stage during Covid in 2020.

Tony's Diary: What He Wrote Privately vs. What He Said Publicly by The Post Millennial