Anthony Fauci grew increasingly annoyed by 'obnoxious adolescent' Trump as Covid pandemic spiraled, diary reveals

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic, privately complained about President Donald Trump's ramblings — and compared him to an 'obnoxious adolescent' — in personal diary entries released this weekend.

More than a thousand pages of Fauci's journal were released by Sen. Rand Paul, who heads the Senate Homeland Security Committee. As part of an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, Paul has called on Fauci to testify on the pandemic before the committee Wednesday. The Kentucky Republican has long peddled the theory that the virus came from a leak at a lab in Wuhan, China, accusing Fauci and other government officials of misleading the public about its source — claims Fauci has denied.

The journal entries date from December 2019, in the lead-up to the outbreak, to December 2022, when Fauci stepped down as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The diary entries provide insight into the pandemic's most critical moments, and lawmakers are expected to probe Fauci on Wednesday about what he knew and didn't know as the pandemic was unfolding.

While some of Fauci's entries reflect early uncertainty about the source of the virus, others delve into his newfound fame — having become the public face of the pandemic in the U.S. — as well as his fickle relationship with the president.

[Full article covers: 'Fauci's tumultuous relationship with Trump'; 'Wuhan lab-leak theory' section; 'Fauci skyrocketing to international fame'; and 'Security issues and threats against Fauci and his family.']