Fauci’s diary details how his relationship with Trump soured
Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Donald Trump went from close collaborators during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic response to political adversaries in one of the most consequential and public breakdowns of Trump’s first term.
At the outset, Trump regularly praised Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, calling him “a terrific guy” and “a wonderful man.” Fauci became a fixture at White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings, often standing beside the president as the administration sought to project a united front.
The admiration initially appeared to run both ways.
Trump recalled that the late Fox News host Lou Dobbs had told him Fauci was “the smartest person” around and that Trump should speak with him. After a January 2020 meeting with Trump, Fauci wrote in his diary, “Amazing day today!” He noted that the president had told him he was “really a famous guy.”
Fauci also used his diary to push back against early reports that suggested friction between him and the White House.
The honeymoon did not last.
By late spring 2020, the relationship began to fray as the two men increasingly diverged over how to manage the pandemic. Fauci advocated social distancing, masking, and a guarded approach to reopening the economy. Trump, increasingly focused on restarting businesses and projecting optimism as he sought reelection against then-former Vice President Joe Biden, grew frustrated with what he viewed as overly pessimistic messaging.
Their increasingly divergent public statements exposed a widening disagreement over both the science and politics of the pandemic.
Fauci’s private diary reflected his growing frustration. He described some of Trump’s coronavirus briefings as “painfully rambling” and “stream of consciousness.” As the 2020 campaign entered its final stretch, Fauci wrote that Trump was “spewing nonsense” on the campaign trail and called him “a true embarrassment.” He also complained that the president appeared more focused on pardoning allies such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn, challenging the election results, and golfing than confronting the pandemic.
The depth of the deterioration came into sharper focus this week after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s personal diary as part of his investigation into whether Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of COVID-19.
Taken together, the records chronicle the collapse of a partnership that began with public displays of mutual respect and gradually gave way to mistrust, sharp disagreements, and open political conflict as the administration’s response to the pandemic evolved.
“Public health emergencies require scientific consistency and political leadership to work together,” said Dr. Anahita Dua, founder and chair of Healthcare for Action, a PAC that recruits, trains, and supports frontline healthcare workers running for public office.
Dua said that while “it’s easy to armchair quarterback decisions years later,” elections “naturally increase pressure on every major decision, and COVID became both a medical crisis and a political issue.”
She told the Washington Examiner that “the broader lesson is not about assigning blame to any one individual.”
“It is about recognizing that future public health emergencies require scientific experts and political leaders to work together while communicating openly, acknowledging uncertainty, and balancing disease control with the social, economic, and emotional consequences of their decisions,” she added.
The first meeting
Trump and Fauci first met in the White House Situation Room on Jan. 29, 2020, as the administration grappled with the emerging threat of the coronavirus.
Fauci later recorded the encounter in his diary.
“The President came in, and the first thing he said as he looked at me was: ‘Anthony, you are really a famous guy,’” Fauci wrote.
Trump stayed for about 20 minutes, asking questions about the virus and its potential threat.
“I was surprised and very pleased, and the Deputies were clearly stunned and impressed,” Fauci wrote.
A month later, Fauci recounted that Trump called him about the emerging COVID-19 crisis. Fauci said he encouraged the president not to downplay the seriousness of the situation because, if the outbreak became severe, “it would look like he is covering up.”
“I thought that he heard what I said, but the next day, he again underplayed it,” Fauci wrote.
By March, however, Fauci was increasingly frustrated by what he viewed as Trump’s propensity to ramble and lose focus during discussions about the pandemic.
“President Trump’s tendency to announce that he loved me and then scream at me on the phone — well, let’s just say that I found this to be out of the ordinary,” Fauci wrote.
Their interactions could shift dramatically from one encounter to the next.
During a March 2020 meeting, Fauci described Trump’s discussion of the pandemic as “a disturbingly rambling discussion” in which the president talked about television ratings, hydroxychloroquine, influenza, and other subjects while Fauci tried to keep him focused.
“I insisted through the rambling and lack of attention span that the POTUS explicitly say that this is NOT a quarantine,” Fauci wrote.
Yet even as the relationship deteriorated, flashes of closeness remained.
On June 2, 2020, Fauci recorded a more positive meeting with Trump in the Oval Office focused on developing COVID-19 vaccines.
“As usual, POTUS was very warm and friendly with me,” Fauci wrote. “When he walked into the Oval with us waiting, I was standing next to the door, and he said, ‘I love you, Tony. I feel like giving you a big hug.’”
Those moments increasingly became the exception.
Over the course of their relationship, Fauci privately described Trump as “incompetent,” “an idiot,” “totally nuts,” and “an obnoxious adolescent.” Trump, in turn, called Fauci a “disaster,” dubbed him the “king of flip-flops,” mocked his credibility, and accused him of seeking the spotlight.
By the fall, the relationship had become openly antagonistic.
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The final call
The final phone call between Trump and Fauci was a far cry from their first meeting, when Trump had lavished praise on the infectious disease expert.
The call came at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2020, two days before Election Day, when voters would decide whether Trump would win a second term or Biden would become president.
Trump was aboard Air Force One when he called Fauci following an interview with the Washington Post.
“Tony, I really like you, and you know that, but what the f*** are you doing?” Trump said, according to Fauci’s diary.
Trump complained that Fauci was “constantly” dropping “bombs” on him and said people inside and outside the White House wanted him fired.
“I like you, but so many people, not only in the White House, but throughout the country, hate you because of what you are doing,” Trump said.
Trump then turned to Biden, whom he disparaged as “so f***ing stupid,” and predicted he would defeat him in a landslide.
“You are 10 times smarter than he is,” Trump told Fauci. “I am going to kick his f***ng a** in this election. I will win by a landslide. Just wait and see.”
Trump returned to his central complaint: Fauci’s public statements.
HOW DID FAUCI’S DIARIES MAKE IT PUBLIC? NO ONE WILL SAY
“Tony, you have to be positive,” the president said. “I do not want to keep you off TV, but when you are out there, you have to be positive.”
For the next 15 minutes, according to Fauci’s diary, Trump continued discussing why Americans supposedly hated Fauci, mocked Biden’s campaign, and insisted he would win reelection in a landslide.
It was a striking end to a relationship that, just months earlier, had been held up as a symbol of the administration’s united response to an unprecedented public health crisis.
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