As newly released diary entries have thrust Dr. Anthony Fauci back into the spotlight, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s own pandemic-era podcast offers a glimpse into just how closely he aligned himself with the former White House adviser.
El-Sayed had hosted a podcast sporadically since 2019, but just seven days into the COVID-19 pandemic, he ramped up production to two episodes a week focused on the virus and public health policy. A review of the episodes by The Daily Wire found that El-Sayed repeatedly praised Fauci, defended his handling of the pandemic, and echoed many of his positions while attacking the former NIH official’s critics.
In a 2021 interview with Fauci, El-Sayed described him as the “face of infectious disease science and medicine dating back all the way to the first outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the 80s.”
“Throughout the pandemic, his honesty, candor, and stubborn insistence on science have been a source of confidence and comfort for many of us,” El-Sayed said while introducing Fauci. “Even if it’s meant he’s become a lightning rod for trolls on the right.”
The “trolls on the right” comment seemed to be describing Fauci critics like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
On Wednesday, Paul and Fauci met again in Congress after Paul released pages from Fauci’s diary that he says contradict the former COVID adviser’s public messaging on the virus’s origins, his views of political figures including President Trump, and his preoccupation with media attention and fame.
During the 2021 interview, El-Sayed used the podcast episode to accuse Paul of putting politics ahead of science. Fauci agreed.
“Though he should know better, Dr. Senator Paul has chosen feeding red meat to his political base over following the science that he trained on,” said El-Sayed. “We were fortunate that Dr. Anthony Fauci was there to check him every single time.”
He lamented that “the country’s top infectious disease expert has to routinely spar with another doctor in the Senate over basic science around getting vaccinated or wearing a mask in the pandemic.”
El-Sayed also argued that Paul and other vaccine skeptics had exploited what he called the evolving nature of scientific guidance.
“People like Rand Paul and the legions of vaccine resisters they inspire have exploited a peculiar aspect of this pandemic,” El-Sayed said. “The fact that all of us are trying to interpret changing science in real time.”
Like Fauci, El-Sayed built much of his public profile during the pandemic by presenting himself as a physician and public health expert while advocating for some of the country’s most aggressive COVID mitigation measures. In 2021, he pushed for Michigan to go back under another statewide lockdown, suggested fining businesses that attempted to open, and criticized Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for allowing kids to return to school without mask mandates.
The pandemic also elevated El-Sayed’s national profile. In addition to his podcast, he made frequent television appearances and later became a CNN contributor.
El-Sayed, who earned a medical degree but has never completed a residency or obtained a medical license to practice medicine, is now seeking Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Fauci’s diary resurfaced this week as he appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. During Wednesday’s hearing, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times while answering questions about the diary entries and his handling of the COVID pandemic.
Former President Joe Biden issued Fauci a preemptive pardon during the final hours of his presidency.
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