The entries offer a candid look at how a public-health partnership became a political fight. They also show why the Trump-Fauci rupture still matters as Congress revisits the pandemic response.
Anthony Fauci criticized Donald Trump in his COVID diary during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing Trump in harsh terms as the two clashed over reopening, testing and public messaging. The diary reveals Fauci’s views of Trump at a moment when the nation’s top infectious disease expert was becoming both a trusted public figure and a political target, according to USA TODAY’s review of newly released entries.
The entries, more than 1,100 pages released by Sen. Rand Paul ahead of Fauci’s subpoenaed July 29 Senate appearance, show Anthony Fauci lets his private frustration spill onto the page. They also show why the relationship between Fauci and Trump remains central to arguments over how the United States handled 2020.
A private rupture made public
Fauci’s diary, kept electronically while he was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spans from December 2019 to December 2022, according to USA TODAY. Paul, a Kentucky Republican and longtime Fauci critic, obtained the documents through a subpoena as part of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
The sharpest entries focus on 2020, when Trump was pushing to reopen the country and campaigning for reelection while infections, hospitalizations and deaths remained politically and medically explosive. Fauci wrote that Trump was ignoring scientific advice and treating reopening as an election issue.
On May 22, 2020, Fauci wrote that Trump was “getting out of control in pushing to open up the country and get the economy back before election day,” adding, “He is desparate. This is all about re-election,” according to USA TODAY, which said it quoted diary passages as written, including misspellings.
By Oct. 15, less than three weeks before Election Day, Fauci’s language had hardened. He wrote that Trump was on the campaign trail “spewing nonsense,” called him “really out of control” and described him as “A true embarrassment.”
The TV fight behind the scenes
The diary entries suggest that one of the deepest tensions inside the pandemic response was not only what federal health officials believed, but whether they could say it publicly.
Fauci wrote that Trump appeared comfortable with him in person while also amplifying criticism of him publicly. In a July 28, 2020, entry, Fauci described Trump as playing “a weird game” by saying their relationship was fine while retweeting attacks. “He is a very strange guy,” Fauci wrote.
Another entry from Aug. 8, 2020, points to the fight over television appearances by Fauci and Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator. Fauci wrote that Trump insisted rising case numbers were due only to increased testing while ignoring percent positivity, hospitalizations and deaths of more than 1,000 per day.
Fauci also recorded asking White House communications aide Alyssa Farah where he stood on TV interviews. According to the diary entry, Farah said she would want him on television constantly, but Trump would “blow up” when he saw doctors contradicting him.
Trump gives his answer
Trump, for his part, rejected Fauci’s approach in a July 28 Fox News appearance, according to USA TODAY. “He wanted to close everything down, and I didn’t,” Trump said. “Had I taken his advice, the whole country would have been closed down.”
Trump also said he “was not a believer” in Fauci and criticized him over pandemic mask guidance. “I lost a lot of respect for him during the period of time, but I inherited him. He’s been there since the 1980s,” Trump said.
That response captures the core political divide that never really disappeared. Fauci’s defenders saw him as a career scientist trying to communicate risk while the White House minimized bad news. Trump’s defenders saw Fauci as a symbol of restrictions, expert overreach and shifting public-health guidance.
The diary does not resolve that debate. It does, however, show how bluntly Fauci viewed the president’s conduct while he was still serving inside the federal response.
Fame complicated Fauci’s role
The entries are not only about Trump. They also show Fauci absorbing the shock of his own celebrity, which turned him into one of the most recognizable public officials in the country.
Fauci wrote on April 7, 2020, that the “Press” was still “hot and heavy” about him. On May 21, he noted a flattering front-page Washington Post article and wrote that his national and international fame was “explosive and really unimaginable,” according to USA TODAY.
That self-awareness matters because Fauci’s public image became part of the pandemic story. For many Americans, he represented steady scientific guidance. For others, he became the face of lockdowns, masks and federal intrusion.
The diary suggests Fauci understood both the attention and its consequences. In the same May 21 entry, he wrote that Trump seemed “enamored” of him even though Fauci was taking the spotlight away, and described their relationship at that point as “very unique and interesting.”
Why the diary matters now
The release arrives as Congress continues to scrutinize the federal pandemic response and the origins of COVID-19. Paul released the diary ahead of Fauci’s scheduled Senate appearance under subpoena, ensuring the documents would frame another round of political questioning.
Several points stand out from the diary as reported:
- Fauci’s private tone was far harsher than his public posture. He continued serving while recording deep frustration with Trump.
- The conflict centered on messaging as much as policy. TV appearances, testing claims and public warnings became flashpoints.
- Trump still frames the dispute around shutdowns. His response emphasizes his opposition to closing the country.
- The documents were released by a Fauci critic. That context matters when considering how the diary is being used politically.
What remains unclear is how the full set of entries will be interpreted once lawmakers, reporters and Fauci himself address them in more detail. A diary captures private impressions in real time; it is not the same as a complete record of every meeting, data point or decision.
Still, the entries add texture to a familiar story. The Trump-Fauci relationship did not simply collapse in public. According to Fauci’s own notes, it was fraying privately for months as the pandemic response became inseparable from the 2020 election, cable news and the fight over who Americans should trust.
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