by David Shephard, ©2026
(Jul. 30, 2026) — In 2020 the mainstream media fell madly in love with a public official. And instead of scrutinizing everything he did and said, which is their job, they put this official up on a pedestal and bowed at his feet. I am referring, of course, to Dr. Anthony Fauci. To the left-leaning media he had an impeccable résumé: he was a doctor and career federal employee, and he could be sold as a “man of science.” Fauci gave the left a lot of hope back in those dark days; to them, he had the potential of being that deep state actor who would save us all from Donald Trump.
The selling of Fauci was based on a political calculation. In January of 2020, the media was concerned that Covid, then accurately, properly and rightfully called the Wuhan Virus, would not be as bad as predicted, and thereby Trump would get the credit when it fizzled out by the spring of that year. The media needed someone to champion, someone they could point to as deserving the credit for saving us from the Wuhan Virus. Fauci was supposed to be our un-Trump-like savior. CNN anchor Dana Bash got in on the act and in a gushing early 2020 interview with him admitted, “It seems to many (including her) that you are a superhero.” MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough called him “an American hero.” Everyone on the left, from the media to Hollywood and to university professors, fell in love with Fauci, and this feeling was perfectly mutual – Fauci was also in love with himself.
Sometime in January of 2020, Dr. Fauci came into the Oval Office and told Trump that a pandemic was on its way, and maybe even already here, and that to hold down the death toll, we had to shut everything down, including, offices, shops and schools, but no matter what we did the death toll would climb into the millions. Trump trusted Fauci, and under the circumstances he probably had no other choice. Trump wasn’t a doctor or a scientist, so he turned to Fauci, who was the highest-ranking health official for guidance. Fauci was given full rein, and the virus, and all that is associated with it, such as the lockdowns, school shutdowns, emergency measures and protocols that continued on way too long, were based on Fauci’s plan of action. In addition, state and local governments took their lead from Fauci.
This renewed focus on Fauci is coming out now because Senator Rand Paul got a hold of Dr. Fauci’s diary. It may seem a bit intrusive and unfair to take and read someone else’s diary, but this diary was written and stored on a government computer. The diary reads eerily similarly to the diary of Bridget Jones in that it is full of superficiality, self-love and entries that contradict Fauci’s public image and statements. There are numerous passages in the diary that make it clear that Fauci loved his newfound fame. The diary also calls into question how Fauci conducted himself during the pandemic. For example, publicly he claimed that he didn’t shut down the schools, but in his diary, he brags about getting New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio and California Governor Gavin Newsom to shut down their school systems.
Another example of Fauci’s contradiction deals with the origin of Covid. One theory that was pushed was that it came from a “wet” market in Wuhan. These markets are like farmers’ markets that specialize in livestock. They are usually dirty places, where the meat being sold may come from diseased animals. Fauci debunked this theory in January of 2020, saying that the first infection was “not connected to the market.” But over time people started to point to the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab as the possible source, that is, the virus escaped from the confines of the lab.
When these theories started to appear, Fauci, in response, then started pushing the wet market theory. Why? Possibly to protect the reputation of the lab, which had received money from the federal government at his direction. Fauci also may have felt that out of loyalty he should try to protect the health officials who worked for him and who recommended the funding and approval of the work taking place in the lab. Such work included “gain of function” research, which involves investigating ways to make a virus more deadly and more infectious. We have since banned such research.
Fauci came up with his plan to slow the spread which included a six-foot rule, known as social distancing, based on the false belief that Covid could be spread only by close contact. He also contradicted himself on the issue of masks. At first, he said masks were useless at slowing the spread, saying, “Nobody should be wearing a mask.”
A few weeks later, Fauci changed course and encouraged people to wear a mask in public. Fauci admitted that he always believed that wearing a mask was helpful in slowing the spread but that he lied because he didn’t want to risk creating a panic before the masks became available to the public. It turns out that Fauci’s first answer was correct. The masks didn’t slow the spread at all.
I usually believe that we should give doctors some latitude when dealing with a novel virus. But Fauci was wrong about everything. Masks didn’t slow the spread, social distance did nothing, the vaccine was not a vaccine; rather, it was more like a prophylactic which helped to ease the severity of the symptoms if one were to get the virus but didn’t prevent anyone from getting Covid or passing it on.
Biden, through an autopen signature, gave Fauci a blanket pardon for any criminal responsibility which he might have been liable for in doing his job fighting Covid. But at today’s hearing Fauci refused to answer any of the senator’s questions. His lawyers may have advised him that he could still be charged with perjury despite Biden’s pardon, so he might want to plead the 5th. And he did.
David Shephard is a native and very proud Virginian. Raised in Fairfax County, David graduated from George Mason University and majored in Government and Politics. He spent decades in politics, campaign consulting, raising money and lobbying. He is also a longtime conservative blogger writing for numerous blogs. He is also the host of “The Virginia Gentleman Podcast.”
David is the author of Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale, and his latest book, Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé.