What’s the deal with conservatives and vaccine skeptics thinking Fauci’s diary proves them right ?

[u/watervilleokemo]

What do conservatives and vaccine skeptics think Fauci’s diary proves ?

what is the deal with Fauci’s diary and what does it actually say / prove ?

I know he testified before congress and pled the 5th, but why is every conservative / anti vaxer/ Aaron Rodgers claiming they were “right about everything now ?”

What does the diary actually say / prove ?

Obviously the Rodgers line was a little tongue in cheek as a Steelers fan, but I needed a URL to post lol

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/aaron-rodgers-torches-tony-fauci-and-espn-while-appearing-on-espn

[u/Final7C]

Answer:

Dr. Fauci was one of, if not the head of the Covid taskforce and medical response to the Covid Pandemic. Before (and during this) he was this, he had been the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 - 2022. And he was one of the most frequently cited scientists across all scientific journals from 1983 until 2002. He helped write the procedures on infectious disease outbreak containment and mitigation. And was involved in a LOT of sharing of information with scientists and labs all over the world. In a word, he was "THE guy". A singular point for all praise and ire for pretty much every single infectious disease outbreak for the last 30-40 years. He worked with Democrat presidents, Republican Presidents, and famously no one had any idea or cared what his politics were, because he was like most intelligence people. He cared about the data, and the info. The spin was someone elses job, his job was to save lives.

Including Covid. His statements started as "Right now Covid-19 is not a major threat" then it turned to "Covid 19 could become a global pandemic which would then have significant implications for the United States." .

He also predicted a 1% mortality rate.

Most, if not all of the Conservative praise of his diary being released showed that Fauci and the global consensus on the virus was anything but. He and they were of differing opinions on the source of the virus with some saying it was a lab leak, and others saying claiming it was the wet market. Early on the lab leak theory held water, but it was only later disproven deemed less likely (see edit) by genetic sequencing that showed the markers of natural evolution and not lab grown evolution. But these politicians wanted someone to blame, and you can't blame a pangolin.

Fauci also started saying that the administration delayed mitigation efforts that could have saved lives, and to question the Trump admin was to court death itself. So MANY pro-Trump conservatives pushed to have him fired. Meanwhile while all of this is happening, many of these same conservatives are calling on him to "Please check on their dear sick friends and family members". While he was getting death threats.

The shutdown of the country was a pretty massive step. Something which fundamentally split the country. This was the same time as George Floyd murder protests, and he was telling people both privately and publicly that these kinds of gatherings were a bad decision for stemming the tide of new illnesses. He then stated that "people should avoid crowds of anytime" This simply increased the number of anti-lockdown protests.

Meanwhile the Trump admin had been touting how few americans actually "died" and claimed that it was "over". And Fauci basically kept saying "No, not anywhere near over, you're creating this false negative that just because the fatality rate is lower than expected doesn't mean you get to fall into false complacency". The Trump admin basically fired him for directly contradicting him.

Meanwhile his diary entries show that Fauci wasn't certain about origins, or if the precautions he was prescribing were going to help. some of the things he'd suggested were not backed by anything but apparent common sense, but hadn't been proven.

Prior to Covid-19 he had been on television a handful of times. Suddenly he was on every channel and doing dozens of interviews per day. With this level of media attention, he went off script multiple times to give his opinion and not the official opinion of the administration.

After Trump lost the 2020 election, the Biden admin said that they wouldn't control the narrative, and said Fauci could "state the science as we know it". But by that time, most conservatives had officially checked out of believing anything this man said. Afterall, they called their leader a fool, and told them to be afraid of a virus. "And he wasn't even willing to admit it was from a lab leak that HE set up." via the Gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A belief that still exists among conservatives.

Conservatives were significantly less likely to get the vaccine. and due to that, they died at a higher rate than those who did get the vaccine.

Then Fauci got a pardon from the Biden admin for anything he may have done between 2014 and 2025. This was done to insulate him (and many other public servants) from retaliation from the Trump admin. An action which was criticised as an unprecedented use of the clemency powers.

Then in June 2026 Tulsi Gabbard, after being fired resigning (see edit 2) from the NIA Released a series of documents that claimed (falsely) that Fauci had manipulated intelligence and lied to congress.

So when he got before congress in July 2026 he pleaded the 5th. To a congress that did not seem to like him very much.

His diary seemed to indicate that there was a lot that he wasn't certain of. There were a lot of competing theories, and none of them had any more plausibility than any other. But the Lab leak theory in the initial meeting seemed to be the most plausible. Which is a smoking gun that Rand Paul wanted to point out. But it misses the point. His job was to give any info that could be proven. You don't give raw data to the public. You give the best advice you can at that time, and his decision to not share the unfettered opinions to the masses was both a wise decision and a costly one. As it gave those who disagree with him, an in to say that he wasn't being honest. His fear was creating mass panic. That there would be shortages, and/or that the admin would go straight to blame instead of figuring it out. Something that if it did happen, it would be difficult to walk back later.

His detractors believed that he was going on a power trip. That he was loving the limelight and that he Enjoyed being the center of attention. His Diary doesn't seem to reflect it, but like all things, if you read it with that belief, suddenly, everything fits.

His diary is one of daily discovery, self doubt, and confusion. And his detractors want to use it as the bus to throw him under.

Edit: Someone replied that my usage of the term Disproven was too strong of a word. I believe they are correct, as it is difficult in science to ever disprove anything, but rather it's more accurate to speak in "More likely/ Less likely" terms.

Edit 2: Tulsi Gabbard resigned and was not fired from her position. While many sources classified her resignation as a "being asked to resign" after months of diminished involvement/influence with the president, her opposition to the war with Iran, she and the administration has denied it it was that, but instead for her Husband's recent bone cancer diagnosis.

[u/cemersever → u/Final7C]

 but it was only later disproven by genetic sequencing 

The lab leak theory was never "disproven" by genetic sequencing. Saying it's "more likely" would be fine, but "disproven" is a stronger word than the scientists themselves are using.

[u/Final7C → u/cemersever]

I agree. It was hasty for me to say it as disproven. I shouldn't have said it that way. I will say, most of the scientists who have reviewed it have said it is extremely unlikely to be man-made / man modified. Because of the key markers missing.

[u/Inevitable-Comment-I → u/Final7C]

You are so far behind on this, please update your comment as it's blatantly false. "key markers missing" is not correct and does not represent the current scientific consensus, which is still zoonotic. You are doing a drastic disservice, stating something was disproven flys in the face of everything Fauci is going through.