Dr. Anthony Faucis own pandemic-era writings portray a public health official increasingly captivated by his celebrity status even as the COVID-19 crisis deepened.
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released Faucis personal diary as part of an ongoing Senate Homeland Security oversight probe into the former National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director, casting fresh light on the gap between Faucis public posture and his private reflections, according to the Daily Caller. While the entries from 2019 through 2022 contain apparent contradictions between what Fauci told the American public and what he acknowledged in private, they also chronicle a man acutely aware of and seemingly enthralled by his own rising fame.
The diary covers health data, internal policy debates, the work of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and, strikingly, Faucis meticulous tracking of his own media image as he became a ubiquitous figure on television and in print. He appears to relish his transformation into a household name, even as millions of Americans faced lockdowns, shuttered businesses and unprecedented government mandates.
Early in the pandemic, Fauci recorded a telling moment from a Situation Room meeting of the White House Task Force, where then-President Donald Trump publicly praised him as really a famous guy the smartest, knowledgeable and outstanding persons he knows. The entry underscores how quickly Faucis role shifted from behind-the-scenes bureaucrat to front-facing symbol of the federal COVID response, a shift that many conservatives argue helped entrench unelected experts at the center of American life.
Throughout the diary, Fauci obsessively monitored media coverage about himself, noting in January 2020 multiple media reporting with several clips of me as his television appearances multiplied. By March, as the pandemic worsened and the death toll mounted, he was boasting of Nice Profiles of me in Politico and NY Times today, signaling a growing preoccupation with his personal brand amid a national emergency.
Many print profiles and features on me. Ridiculous too numeous [sic] to count!, he wrote in March 2020, acknowledging the flood of flattering coverage. Similar entries continued between March and April 2020, tracking closely with the rising COVID-19 death counts, as Faucis star power grew alongside the crisis he was tasked with managing.
For better or worse, I am becoming an international celebrity. Calls from all over the world, he wrote during that same period, capturing the self-awareness and apparent satisfaction with his global profile. The diary even includes a photograph of Fauci-themed donuts decorated in patriotic colors, a trivial but telling artifact of the cult of personality that sprang up around him.
Fauci also preserved a Washington Post article titled Fauci socks, Fauci doughnuts, Fauci fan art: The coronavirus expert attracts a cult following, according to the files, further documenting his fascination with his own fandom. On March 21, 2020, he went so far as to declare, It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable persons in the world.
Other entries detail his fixation on pop culture tributes, including Fauci bobble-heads, online petitions to crown him Sexiest Man Alive, fan-made merchandise and stories of grandmothers who have crushes on him, all amid a steady drumbeat of media buzz. He saved an article about an Instagram Live conversation he held with NBA star Steph Curry, underscoring how deeply he leaned into his role as a media personality rather than a strictly apolitical scientist.
The diary is not devoid of darker notes, as Fauci also vented about security fears and threats directed at his family. Threats on the dark web abainst [sic] me, Chris and the girls. They know everything about us including where my daughters live and work. Strange people hanging around my house and taking photos of the house, one March 2020 entry reads, reflecting the intense polarization surrounding his public role.
Fauci is scheduled to testify next Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed, ensuring his record will again face public scrutiny. Senators are expected to press him on the origins of COVID-19, U.S. funding of gain-of-function research overseas, key documentation and other controversies from his tenure as NIAID director.
Paul has pursued Fauci for years over the origins of COVID-19, demanding the declassification of internal communications and official records tied to the former health official. Their repeated clashes in congressional hearings particularly over Faucis alleged efforts to downplay or suppress the Wuhan lab leak theory now take on added weight in light of diary entries that reveal a powerful bureaucrat acutely conscious of his own image while Americans bore the brunt of sweeping, expert-driven policies.
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