Fauci raved about China but fumed at Trump in diary

Read the original at Washington Examiner ↗
Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-09 · by Mia Cathell

Quick Summary

Dr. Anthony Fauci's recently released diary entries from 2016 and early 2017 reveal his admiration for China's infectious disease research while expressing strong disapproval of then-President-elect Donald Trump. The entries detail Fauci’s disdain for Trump’s debate performance in September 2016, his reluctance to meet with the presidential transition team regarding a potential NIH director position under Trump, and his criticism of Trump’s staff and cabinet nominees as “unscrupulous” and “scary.” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul published these pre-pandemic writings, leading to remarks about Fauci showing signs of "early-onset Trump Derangement Syndrome."
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

In newly released diary entries from the early days of the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed strong praise for China's infectious disease research while showing significant disdain for then-President Donald Trump. These sentiments were detailed in notes published by Senator Rand Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, on Wednesday. The diaries show that Fauci's dislike for Trump began even before he took office, with entries mocking Trump’s performance during the 2016 presidential debates against Hillary Clinton. For instance, on September 28, 2016, Fauci wrote, "Trump made a fool of himself," referring to the first debate held two days earlier. Despite his busy schedule, Fauci continued to document his criticism of Trump throughout this period.

Written for “Fauci Diary Revelations” on 2026-10-09, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high 2 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 67269 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-09

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
48
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
8%
4 of 48 hedged
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
72.4
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Fauci Diary Revelations
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

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Source leaning vs. consistency

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Publisher

Washington Examiner · 2315 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Mia Cathell
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “Should be impeached, but Dems are rightfully concerned that this will galvanize his base.”
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Fauci raved about China but fumed at Trump in diary
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Also by Mia Cathell
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Topics

Atlantic China Democratic Senate Homeland Security Committee Ugandan

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 30× Fauci PERSON · 22× China GPE · 2× Anthony Fauci PERSON · 1× Atlantic ORG · 1× Clinton PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Hillary Clinton PERSON · 1× Rand Paul PERSON · 1× Senate Homeland Security Committee ORG · 1×

Narrative

“Of note, he mentioned that these were difficult times related to the tension between USA and China regarding the letter from Francis Collins to 10,000 grantees and contractors warning of foreign sources (hinting strongly that these are Chinese) are stealing intellectual property and other trade secrets when their postdocs and trainees come here.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 “Should be impeached, but Dems are rightfully concerned that this will galvanize his base.”
2026-10-09 · Washington Examiner
Fauci raved about China but fumed at Trump in diary · assertive framing

Claims (48 extracted, 4 hedged)

The latest release of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary pages, dating back to the early days of the first Trump administration, shows the top infectious disease official singing China’s praises but repeatedly disparaging the president he served. asserted
he → date → president
According to the newly published personal notes, Fauci thought highly of China, particularly its infectious disease research, while he felt immense disdain for President Donald Trump. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY), whose office published Fauci’s pre-pandemic writings on Wednesday, quipped that Fauci exhibited signs of “early-onset Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Loathed Trump The diary records reveal that Fauci’s despisement of Trump developed when Trump was running for president in 2016. uncertain
Trump → accord → 2016
On Sept. 28, 2016, Fauci dedicated diary space that day to mocking Trump’s performance at his debate against Hillary Clinton. asserted
Fauci → dedicate → Clinton
In fact, Fauci seemed so engrossed by Trump’s debate performance that he led the day’s log with his thoughts on the first debate between Trump and Clinton, which took place two days prior. asserted
which → seem → place
“Trump made a fool of himself,” Fauci headlined the diary entry. asserted
Fauci → make → entry
Despite himself having a jam-packed day chock-full of events, Fauci appeared to be quite preoccupied with Trump’s debate performance earlier in the week. asserted
Fauci → have → week
Only after criticizing Trump’s debate skills did Fauci move on to journal about his own appearance on a panel put together by the Atlantic, a meeting he had with a Ugandan official, and a book signing party held at the home of prominent Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen. asserted
he → criticize → Rosen
After Trump won the 2016 election, Fauci documented his struggles adjusting to life under the Trump administration. asserted
Fauci → win → administration
Even before Trump took office, Fauci was resistant just to meeting with the presidential transition team to discuss him potentially serving as Trump’s director of the National Institutes of Health. asserted
him → take → Health
Fauci, a career bureaucrat, had served as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for more than 30 years prior to Trump becoming president. asserted
Trump → serve → years
“I am more and more concerned about even talking to the transition people about being NIH Director since Trump is so unpredictable,” Fauci wrote the week of Jan. 1, 2017. asserted
Fauci → talk → Jan.
According to another diary entry dated the day after Trump’s inauguration, Fauci’s wife marched against Trump in Washington while his daughters joined marches protesting Trump in Boston and San Francisco. uncertain
daughters → accord → Boston
By March 2017, Fauci considered Trump’s White House staff “a scary bunch,” saying “Trump and his people are truly unscrupulous. asserted
Trump → consider → March
“[T]hey looked like fools on TV and the media, especially Sean Spicer (spokesman) and Kellyanne Conway, who always looks like an idiot,” Fauci wrote. asserted
Fauci → look → idiot
Elsewhere in his journal, Fauci called Trump’s nominations for Cabinet positions “scary.” asserted
Fauci → call → positions
He labeled Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, an “anti-environmentalist” for dismissing climate change alarmism. asserted
He → label → alarmism
Fauci also opposed the appointment of former Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price for health and human services secretary, saying Price was “against [Obamacare], Medicare/Medicaid, abortion, [and] anti-science.” asserted
Price → oppose → Obamacare
During Trump’s time in office, Fauci hoped that left-wing outrage over Trump’s remarks condemning violence from “both sides” of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville spelled “the beginning of the unravelling of the Trump presidency.” asserted
outrage → hop → presidency
“It is very clear that he is nuts and totally, totally unfit to be POTUS,” Fauci wrote on Aug. 12, 2017. asserted
Fauci → write → Aug.
“Let us see what happens in [the] coming days.” asserted
what → let → days
Two years into Trump’s first term, Fauci privately called for Trump’s impeachment as early as January 2019. asserted
Fauci → call → January
House Democrats impeached Trump, the first time, almost a year later in December 2019. asserted
Democrats → impeach → December
Lamenting the partial government shutdown at the time, Fauci was criticizing Trump’s demands for $5.7 billion in federal funding to build the southern border wall. asserted
Fauci → lament → wall
“Trump insisting on $5 billion for his wall on Mexico border. asserted
Trump → insist → border
He is acting more and more bizarre,” Fauci wrote. asserted
Fauci → act → ?
“Should be impeached, but Dems are rightfully concerned that this will galvanize his base.” asserted
this → impeach → base
Lauded China Fauci, meanwhile, was heaping praise on top Chinese health officials. asserted
Fauci → laud → officials
“Big Chinese visitor day,” Fauci wrote on Sept. 27, 2017, recounting the visit of Dr. Gao Fu, then the director-general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a Beijing-based agency under control of the Chinese government. Fauci hosted Gao, a publicly listed member of the Chinese Communist Party, at the NIH that day. asserted
Fauci → write → NIH
“Very smart and nice guy,” Fauci said of Gao. asserted
Fauci → say → Gao
Afterward, Fauci met with a Chinese delegation, comprised of various CCP members, to debrief them on the NIH’s collaborative work with China. asserted
Fauci → meet → China
The foreign delegation included Liu Fandong, the vice premier of China and member of the CCP Central Committee’s political bureau; Li Bin, the minister of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission and a member of the CCP since 1984; and CCP scholar Dr. Cao Xuetao, the director of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. asserted
delegation → include → Sciences
In January 2019, Fauci expressed skepticism about classified warnings, coming from counter bioterrorism officials, concerning Chinese efforts to steal U.S. technology. asserted
Fauci → express → technology
“We discussed at the highest top secret level that the Chinese were stealing our technologies for Ebola vaccines and therapies,” Fauci wrote. asserted
Fauci → discuss → vaccines
“I cannot see why this is so secret. asserted
this → see → ?
An earlier release of Fauci’s diary entries showed him disregarding concerns around China’s involvement in COVID-19’s creation, even entertaining the formation of a partnership with the Chinese government for what he said would be a joint “good faith” investigation into the origins of the virus. asserted
he → show → virus
“[B]ut the environment in the United States is so toxic with regard to China and the delusions of the far right radicals,” Fauci bemoaned, “that it is unlikely that we could come to a collaborative approach with the Chinese to come to a better understanding of the origin of COVID-19. uncertain
we → bemoan → COVID-19
The diary files released this week indicate that there were widespread suspicions on the U.S. side about China stealing sensitive information through the use of Chinese postdoctoral researchers, and it appeared that the Chinese tried to get Fauci to drop those claims. uncertain
Fauci → release → claims
On Nov. 5, 2018, Fauci recounted a “courtesy visit” from Dr. Chen Wang, the president of CAMS and a former delegate to the CCP’s National Congress. asserted
Fauci → recount → Congress
It seems the underlying purpose of the meeting was to lobby Fauci about the United States easing proprietary-theft allegations against China. asserted
States → seem → China
“He wanted to firm up collaborations between NIAID and CAMS,” Fauci wrote. asserted
Fauci → want → NIAID
…and 8 more, not listed.
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