Anthony Fauci diary entries on COVID fame ignored by major networks
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Dr. Eye-popping diary entries by Anthony Fauci reveal the former White House COVID adviser’s focus on newfound celebrity at the height of the global pandemic, but anyone relying on legacy media outlets for news and information may not be aware of that.
Live broadcasts of ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN and MS NOW ignored Fauci’s diary entries from the time they aired on Saturday afternoon until 9 a.m. ET on Monday, when the flagship morning shows ended, according to transcript research using Grabien Media.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky. The journals, published by , chronicle Fauci’s day-to-day role during the COVID-19 crisis through his meetings with President Donald Trump, governors and world leaders, media appearances and personal observations as the pandemic unfolded in 2020.
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Dr. Diary entries written by Anthony Fauci were ignored by numerous broadcast media outlets. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Paul, a longtime critic of Fauci who has frequently clashed with him over the federal response and the origins of the virus, made the logs public as part of the committee’s ongoing oversight investigation. Diary entries document Fauci’s fondness for newfound fame, his cozy relationships with various former media personalities, his growing disillusionment with Trump’s White House, and his assertion that it is “not an exaggeration” to say he is “the most famous and talked-about person in the country.”
The diary entries exploded on social media but appear to have been ignored by mainstream news networks.
“NBC Nightly News” did not mention the story over the weekend, and NBC continued to ignore it on its “Today” show Monday morning, according to Grabien transcripts. ABC’s “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America” followed the same pattern, while “CBS’ Evening News” and “CBS Mornings” also found nothing newsworthy.
Sunday events programs such as ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’s “Face the Nation” also declined to cover Fauci’s diary.
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President Donald Trump, then-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. He listens to Anthony Fauci talk to members of the coronavirus task force. (Washington Post via Jabin Botsford/Getty Images)
It was much the same with cable news; CNN and MS NOW ignored the story on linear television throughout Monday morning. According to Grabien Media, the word “Fauci” was not mentioned even once.
CNN’s broadcast blackout came despite Fauci appearing repeatedly in host Jake Tapper’s private diary entries as he documented phone calls, text exchanges and dinners during their growing friendship at Tappers’ home in Washington.
Fauci wrote that Tapper privately checked to make sure a CNN interview did not cause trouble at the White House. When The Atlantic’s Peter Nicholas said Fauci was “humiliated” by a canceled Tapper interview, Fauci fired back at his diary: “Damn, Peter.”
After Fauci’s heated conversation with GOP Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan in April 2021, Fauci wrote that CNN’s Dana Bash texted him to tell him he was a “better man” and quoted CNN host Wolf Blitzer as joking that no one would blame Fauci if he had told Jordan to “go fuck himself.”
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Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary entries shocked social media over the weekend. (Getty Images)
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume noted the media blackout.
Hume wrote of X: “This does not receive the attention it deserves.” “Is this because media figures are so close to the man at the center of a major medical controversy?”
ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. MS NOW declined comment.
The diary’s release came days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed by Paul. Several network insiders suggested the story broke during a busy news cycle and that there was still time to address it before Wednesday’s hearing.
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Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
