Recently released personal diaries belonging to Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), reveal that Barack Obama privately made critical remarks about President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. The comments were reportedly made during a 25-minute phone call in November 2021, according to an entry in Fauci's extensive personal records.
"a hopeless idiot who was a pathologic liar." — Barack Obama, per Dr. Anthony Fauci's diary entry
The diaries, spanning 2019 through 2022 and totaling over 1,000 pages, were discovered on government servers by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before being turned over to Senate Republicans. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) subsequently released the documents, bringing renewed scrutiny to Fauci's private views and actions during the federal government's COVID-19 response.
According to Fauci's diary entry, Obama initiated the call to offer support as Fauci faced intense criticism from Republican figures over his handling of the pandemic. Fauci recounted telling Obama about attacks he was enduring, including specific mention of merchandise sold by Donald Trump Jr. bearing the slogan “Fauci Kills Puppies.” This slogan stemmed from allegations that NIAID had funded research involving beagle puppies, a controversy centered on a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases that was later corrected by the journal in October 2021.
Fauci's diary states that Obama responded to the mention of Donald Trump Jr. by calling him “a f*cking moron.” Fauci wrote that Obama then apologized for using profanity before continuing his criticism, describing President Trump as “a hopeless idiot who was a pathologic liar.” The entry also notes Obama's frustration that "moderate Republicans were not actually speaking out" on Fauci's behalf, viewing their silence as a failure to defend against what he considered "terrible slanderous behavior" directed at Fauci. Fauci described the conversation as "an incredibly memorable phone call."
Beyond the November 2021 entry, other diary revelations include a March 2021 entry where Fauci reportedly described President Trump as an "obnoxious adolescent," documenting what he perceived as an increasingly strained relationship between himself and President Trump during the federal COVID-19 response.
The release of these diaries has intensified calls for transparency regarding the pandemic response. Following the documents' public release, Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. During this hearing, Fauci notably invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times, accusing Senator Paul of attempting to build a criminal case against him.
The White House has also weighed in on the revelations. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle criticized Barack Obama, stating, "Barack Hussein Obama will go down as one of the most dishonest, divisive, and destructive Presidents in history." The Independent, a news outlet, reported that it contacted the Office of Barack Obama for comment regarding the diary entries, but no response had been reported at the time of publication. The diaries and their contents underscore the deep political divisions that characterized the public health crisis and continue to fuel debate over accountability and the roles of key figures.
