Ex-Fox News Host Under Fire After Fauci’s Secret Diary Is Exposed
Former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace is facing renewed criticism after newly released diary entries written by Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed a private conversation in which the veteran journalist allegedly expressed sympathy for the nation’s top COVID adviser during the height of the pandemic.
The entry, made public Monday as part of more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s personal COVID-era journals released by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has quickly become one of the most widely discussed revelations ahead of Fauci’s upcoming Senate testimony.
In one passage, Fauci described a phone call with Wallace, who at the time hosted Fox News Sunday before later leaving the network for CNN.
“In addition I had a very nice phone call with Chris Wallace of FOX News who called me asking some medical advice about a trip that he wants to take to Oxford to lecture at the Oxford Union,” Fauci wrote. “I went over the pros and cons and risk benefit of making such a trip. In the course of the conversation he empathized greatly with me about the attacks that I’m under by the far right and he fully understands what is going on.”
Fauci writes that while at Fox News, Chris Wallace “empathized greatly with me about the attacks that I’m under by the far right and he fully understands
what is going on” pic.twitter.com/TtdFX6onk8— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) July 26, 2026
The remarks have fueled criticism from conservatives who long viewed Wallace as one of the more establishment voices at Fox News during the Trump administration. The diary entry circulated rapidly across social media after Paul’s office released the journals Monday morning. The Wallace revelation is only one part of a much larger release that is expected to dominate Fauci’s Senate appearance later this week before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, now chaired by Paul.
The journals paint a detailed picture of Fauci’s private thoughts during the pandemic, including his deteriorating relationship with President Donald Trump. According to the entries, Fauci described Trump at various times as “rambling,” “crazy,” “desperate,” and “a true embarrassment,” while expressing frustration with the administration’s COVID messaging.
The diaries also reveal how closely Fauci tracked his own growing public profile as he became one of the most recognizable faces of the pandemic.
In an April 7, 2020, entry, Fauci noted that the “press still hot and heavy about me,” adding that multiple stories each day involved him directly or indirectly. Weeks later, he wrote that his “national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable,” insisting it was “not hyperbole” to describe the attention he was receiving.
Another entry records that he received an invitation to appear on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars as his public profile continued to grow.
Paul and other Republican lawmakers argue the journals raise broader questions about Fauci’s priorities during one of the deadliest public health crises in American history. Critics contend the entries show a government official increasingly focused on media attention and personal influence while millions of Americans endured lockdowns, school closures, business shutdowns and other pandemic restrictions.
The newly released diaries are also expected to intensify scrutiny over Fauci’s handling of the origins of COVID-19. According to multiple reports reviewing the journals, Fauci privately questioned aspects of the early Wuhan wet market narrative while continuing to publicly dismiss the lab leak theory for much of the pandemic. Those discrepancies are expected to be a major subject of questioning during this week’s hearing.
The documents also reportedly include references to private conversations with former NIH adviser David Morens after Morens became the subject of congressional investigations, another issue Republicans say deserves closer examination.
Paul, one of Fauci’s most persistent critics throughout the pandemic, said the American people deserve answers about decisions made during the federal government’s COVID response. The Kentucky senator has repeatedly accused federal health officials of misleading the public regarding pandemic policies, gain-of-function research and communications surrounding the virus’ origins.
Fauci, who retired from government service in 2022 after leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades, is expected to face extensive questioning on those issues when he appears before the Senate committee.