Dr. Anthony Fauci used the pandemic to become a celebrity and raise his own profile, proving that having a title and a laundry list of credentials does not mean that someone should simply be trusted as an “expert.”
The revelations from Fauci’s diary and emails show a man obsessed with turning the uncertainty and fear of a global pandemic into celebrity privilege. In his diary, Fauci brags about being on magazine covers and television interviews, writing that “my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable” and “It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable people in the world.”
FAUCI’S PRIVATE COVID-19 DIARIES: SIX TAKEAWAYS ON FAME, PRIZE MONEY, AND THE LAB LEAK DEBATE
In truth, we already knew this about Fauci. It was obvious as early as July 2020, when he threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game. Fauci was allowed to watch the game from the stands, with his mask around his chin, while normal people were barred from attending games. Fauci saw himself as better than everyone else, which is why he lied about the efficacy of masks, the target goals for herd immunity, and comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu (among other things) with the goal of manipulating Americans’ behavior to reach his desired outcomes.
Who can forget that the New York Times reported that Fauci’s home office was “adorned with portraits of him, drawn and painted by some of his many fans”?
The important thing to note here is that Fauci was appointed by liberal media as a near-unquestionable authority figure on science, based on his position at the National Institutes of Health and his long career in the field. When it became clear that Fauci was wrong about schools and businesses reopening, it became sacrilegious to question what else he was wrong about. As Fauci said, criticizing him was “really criticizing science, because I represent science.”
In reality, Fauci’s credentials did not make him wiser or more trustworthy. He was wrong (or lied) about a litany of issues, and then sanctimoniously shamed everyone who disagreed with him. The entire time, he used his position to become a celebrity and enjoy the fame and special privileges that came with it. The continued reverence of Fauci was a product of the left-wing view that university credentials and a fancy job title in a government bureaucracy make someone an infallible expert. Fauci’s obsession with personal fame and stroking his ego is proof that neither of those things makes one someone worth listening to.