Trump Resurfaces 2020 Clip Mocking Fauci’s First Pitch Ahead Of Senate Testimony

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday reposted a July 2020 clip on Truth Social that shows Dr. Anthony Fauci missing home plate while throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Nationals Park. The resurfaced video came as Fauci prepared to testify before a Senate committee about the origins of COVID-19 and the federal pandemic response.

In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that because Fauci once claimed to be a good basketball player, he expected the former NIAID director to be able to throw accurately to home plate. Trump called the clip evidence that Fauci was a "phony" and described the pitch as "the worst throw I have ever seen in years of watching first pitches." Fauci later labeled the moment a "mishap."

"He was a terrible 'athlete,' and this is, by far, the worst throw I have ever seen in years of watching first pitches," Trump wrote.

Context: Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for many years, became a prominent public figure during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump initially praised Fauci but later criticized him as pandemic restrictions prompted backlash from some conservatives. Fauci stepped down as NIAID director in 2022.

Senate Subpoena and Diary Entries

Republican Senator Rand Paul subpoenaed Fauci to appear before a Senate committee examining COVID-19’s origins and the government response. In advance of the hearing, Paul released what he described as more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diary entries from 2019 to 2022, asserting they show a discrepancy between Fauci’s private notes and public statements.

"He was a terrible 'athlete,'" Trump said of Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director (@RealDonaldTrump, Truth Social)

One 2020 entry notes there was no scientific consensus about whether the virus arose from a natural spillover or a lab leak; Fauci wrote that 10 of 12 scientists he consulted "felt that deliberate insertion was possible." Paul has used the diary to argue Fauci privately entertained the lab-leak idea while publicly favoring natural spillover.

Fauci and his lawyers have dismissed Paul’s allegations. His legal team called the claims "absolutely baseless," and Fauci himself labeled the accusation that he knowingly misled the public as "preposterous." More than 100 infectious-disease experts have also publicly defended Fauci, saying there is "no credible evidence" to support the allegations.

Personal Reflections and Security Detail

The diary excerpts contain personal observations, including Fauci's frustration with the Trump administration during the pandemic and his awareness of his heightened public profile. At one point, Fauci wrote that it was "not [hyperbolic] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable [person] in the world."

In 2025, the Trump administration ended Fauci’s federal security detail — one of several instances where protections for former officials who later became critics were revoked. At the time, Trump said he would not feel responsible if harm came to former officials.

Bottom line: The reposted 2020 video is a political jab timed to coincide with a high-profile Senate hearing. The hearing and the released diary pages have intensified partisan debate over Fauci’s public role and the origin of COVID-19, while many public-health experts continue to defend his record.