Fauci Diaries: Obama Allegedly Calls Trump 'A Hopeless Idiot' and Don Jr. 'A F***ing Moron' in 2021 Call

Newly released diary entries kept by Dr. Anthony Fauci record a November 2021 phone call in which former President Barack Obama allegedly used profanity to criticize President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. while offering Fauci support amid intense political attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The notes are part of a file of more than 1,000 pages that Senator Rand Paul released over the weekend. Fauci's entry on page 914 describes a conversation during which he told Obama about accusations from "far-right Republicans," including fundraising apparel sold on Donald Trump Jr.'s website that bore the slogan "Fauci Kills Puppies." Those items were tied to reporting about experiments involving beagle puppies that were published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

"I told President Obama about the crazy things that the far-right Republicans were doing including the fact that Donald Trump, Jr. had on his website the sale of sweatshirts and T-shirts to collect money for his campaign and on the T-shirts and sweatshirts it said 'Fauci kills puppies,'" Fauci wrote. "Obama said That Donald Trump junior is 'A f****** moron'. He apologized for using crude language but then went on to say that Donald Trump was a hopeless idiot who was a pathologic liar."

The controversy over the so-called "puppy" experiments stems from a study in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases that reported puppies were exposed to sand flies while their heads were restrained in mesh enclosures. The journal issued a correction to that paper in October 2021. Fauci led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 until 2022.

Fauci and Obama, pictured together in 2014, reportedly spoke by phone in 2021 as Fauci faced intense criticism from MAGA supporters over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including attacks from the Trump family (AFP/Getty)

Political Context and Reactions

Fauci's diary entry also records Obama expressing frustration that moderate Republicans were not publicly defending Fauci against what Obama viewed as slanderous accusations. Fauci described the call as "a great conversation that lasted for 25 minutes," and wrote that Obama said he would follow up if he learned anything further.

When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Independent: "Barack Hussein Obama will go down as one of the most dishonest, divisive, and destructive Presidents in history." The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama was also contacted for comment, according to reporting.

How the Diaries Were Released

According to reporting, Fauci's pandemic diary — covering 2019 through 2022 — was discovered on government servers by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and subsequently turned over to Senate Republicans. The release of the diary entries has reopened debate over Fauci's role in the pandemic response, his public profile, and the political attacks he faced.

Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during a Congressional hearing following the release of his diary entries (Getty)

Aftermath: Hearings and Legal Posture

Following the release, Fauci testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the origins of the coronavirus. During a three-hour hearing, he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times and accused Senator Rand Paul of pursuing a criminal case against him.

Fauci's diaries also document growing tensions between him and President Trump during the pandemic. In a March 29, 2021 entry, Fauci described Trump as an "obnoxious adolescent," reflecting a deteriorating working relationship after an initial period of collaboration on the White House COVID-19 response team.

Note: This article summarizes claims reported in Fauci's diaries as released by Senate Republicans and media outlets. Some details, including direct quotations and the provenance of the files, are based on those releases and on contemporaneous reporting; interested readers should consult the original diary excerpts and reporting for full context.