Dr. Anthony Fauci, who botched America’s response to the COVID pandemic, has an ego so big he has a pillow on an armchair in his living room with a picture of himself.
The pillow features a quote — from himself, of course — that reads: “It is what it is.”
Fauci’s galaxy-sized ego has been on display throughout the pandemic. He’s on TV nearly every week, and at one point, made a round through the sport-show circuit to talk about whether the National Football League should wear masks under their helmets to prevent the spread of COVID.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Fauci “smirked as he recounted how the pandemic turned him into an international celebrity,” the Daily Mail reported.
“The White House COVID tsar, 81, looked pleased with himself recalling how he hasn’t had to introduce himself since his first appearance at a White House COVID-19 briefing in February 2020,” the UK paper wrote.
“I vividly remember your very first appearance in the White House briefing room in one of the COVID briefings, where a reporter shouted out, interrupted you, and asked you to say your name,” host Jonathan Karl said. “I suspect that may have been the last time you were asked to identify yourself.”
“Yeah, I think so, in fact, a lot has happened since then that’s been an amazing journey that all of us have been through, and still are in actually,” Fauci said.
Karl noted that Fauci has been turned into a ceramic bobblehead and supporters wore shirts with his face that said: “In Fauci We Trust.”
“I was pretty well known among my peers in science, but certainly not to the extent it is now,” Fauci said. “You know, I actually think both extremes, Jon, are aberrations of a reflection of the divisiveness in our country.”
Fauci, it should be pointed out, caused much of that divisiveness. When COVID first arrived on our shores, the doctor said it wasn’t a “major threat” and said there was no need to wear a mask.
Of course, he quickly flipped on both of those stances.
But Fauci blew more than just those facets of the government’s response. He called for “contact tracing,” which cost a fortune but turned out to be useless. He urged economic shutdowns and closures of schools, both of which also turned out to be meaningless and extremely damaging.
He said the virus would affect everyone when, in fact, it was far more deadly for the elderly and the immunocompromised. Fauci mocked the notion that science should focus on them: now it turns out that was the key strategy (See: Finland).
Last month, Fauci finally admitted that he and his team “botched” certain aspects of handling COVID after it hit the U.S. in March 2020, including his flip-flopping on the efficacy of masks and the lengthy time it took to make rapid tests available nationwide.
“We didn’t know masks worked outside of the hospital setting. There was supposedly a shortage of good masks for the people who were taking care of individuals,” the doctor said in an interview that aired last month at the Texas Tribune Festival, Fox News reported on September 26.
And he put the blame on others for rapid tests, saying, “They did not get the commercial involvement in the tests quickly. They stuck to their own tests,” he said, not defining just who “they” are.
Fauci is set to retire at the end of the year, just before Republicans take over the House and possibly the Senate, after 54 years at the National Institutes of Health.
He rose to the position of director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and became the highest-paid government official — paid $480,000 this year, more than even the president of the United States and every four-star general.
And doc made bank. Fauci’s net worth rose from $7.6 million in 2019 to more than $12.6 million by December 2021, the nonprofit OpenTheBooks reported.
Fauci’s ego — and hypocrisy — has long been on display. In one perfect example, in May — with much fanfare and news coverage — Fauci announced he was canceling his attendance at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Too much COVID, he said.
But Fauci was photographed — maskless — attending a swanky pre-dinner brunch with people packed into a room.
Back in January, an eagle-eyed person on Twitter caught a snap Fauci in the documentary “Fauci” that showed a giant portrait of the doctor on his office wall.
“Fauci in his office, surrounded by pictures of Fauci, watching that scene from “Fauci” where Fauci is in his office surrounded by pictures of Fauci,” the Twitterer wrote.
Fauci in his office, surrounded by pictures of Fauci, watching that scene from "Fauci" where Fauci is in his office surrounded by pictures of Fauci. pic.twitter.com/3ALQOETaRK
— Karl Dierenbach (@Dierenbach) January 19, 2022
The doctor is bailing just in time to avoid the coming Republican takeover of the House, where top members have pledged to investigate Fauci if he was still a federal employee.
But don’t expect Fauci to go away — his ego is just too huge for that.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.