Yesterday, former NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci was hauled before the Senate yet again, even though that poor man retired from public service in 2022. Yes, Republican lawmakers are still dangerously and stupidly obsessed with Dr. Fauci. I found a succinct explanation for the Republican conspiracies about Dr. Fauci and the Covid pandemic: “The overwhelming right wing sentiment is that COVID was an engineered bioweapon that was also harmless. Trump overreacted to it by shutting down the country, then engineered a drive to create a vaccine that was the real bioweapon that killed millions, and it’s Joe Biden’s fault.” That is literally the boiled-down right-wing argument. Republican voters wouldn’t even allow Donald Trump to campaign on his sole legitimate achievement, Operation Warp Speed, because they were all so conspiracy-pilled about how vaccines are bad and Covid didn’t really exist but it was all Biden’s fault.
So, Wednesday’s Senate hearing was an utter clownshow, a circus engineered to provide clips and soundbytes of Republican senators cursing at Dr. Fauci and throwing their unhinged conspiracies in his face like a “gotcha.” Dr. Fauci repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment, I would assume because he’s totally over all of this and he’s hoping that these morons just punch themselves out. Even Harvey Levin, who has never been a bastion of thoughtful political or scientific discourse, made a statement which boiled down to “Stop doing this to Fauci.” Andy Cohen also spoke up for Fauci and reminded everyone of Fauci’s actual credentials.
🚨🎥 TMZ's Harvey Levin calls the attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci "one of the most heartbreaking things" he’s witnessed in government, comparing the push to jail him to the fear and persecution of the McCarthy era. pic.twitter.com/NavLyfEC4S
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 29, 2026
This Fauci hearing is the biggest explosion of right wing brainworms I've ever seen. Years of debunked and absurd antivax and "gain of function" conspiracy theories expressed as incoherent screaming at an 85 year old man. It's absolutely demented and embarrassing to watch. https://t.co/vcH6Nng3ok
— Mike (not a) Rothschild (@rothschildmd) July 29, 2026
Tonight's Mazel of the Day goes to Dr. Anthony Fauci! #WWHL pic.twitter.com/VMubWpiZuI
— Watch What Happens Live! (@BravoWWHL) July 30, 2026
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Washington, DC Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, looks over his notes before testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Fauci is set to face questions once again about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Washington, DC. Pictured: Anthony Fauci BACKGRID USA 29 JULY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, looks over his notes before testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Fauci is set to face questions once again about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Washington, DC. Pictured: Anthony Fauci BACKGRID USA 29 JULY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Washington, DC Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, looks over his notes before testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Fauci is set to face questions once again about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Washington, DC. Pictured: Anthony Fauci BACKGRID USA 29 JULY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Anthony Fauci is a brilliant physician, true patriot, and American hero. The GOP is a bunch of ignorant, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, fascist clowns. ‘Nuff said.
Amen. I’d like public hearings on how Trump and his administration bungled the US government response to the pandemic, and outright lied to the American public, costing the lives of millions of Americans needlessly.
This comment needs a Like button.
Absolutely true.
My mother (Republican) kept trying to tell me yesterday that Fauci was hiding something by pleading the fifth. It’s weird because I know she believes in vaccines and even got the Covid vaccine and booster because she has COPD. The disconnect is real for these people. I did not have the energy to deal with her as I literally had surgery a few hours before.
He invoked the fifth to preserve the pardon he was granted by President Biden on the way out the door. To answer even one “question” from these lunatics would have negated his right not to self incriminate and put him at risk of being accused of lying to Congress. The pardon does not cover any new charges against him. Hope that helps with your mom.
What does she think about the times Trump took the 5th?
During a single, 4-hour deposition, held August 10, 2022, with NY AG office attorneys, tRump invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 440 times. He only answered one question to state his name.
Not everyone who invokes the fifth has something to hide. Trump undoubtedly did and still does.
Sorry to hear that. Hope the rest of your healing from surgery progresses more smoothly. Found myself watching a Heather Cox Richardson (YT) explainer yesterday about pollster ‘categories’ of Republicans: traditional, moderate, or MAGA. As much as I probably benefited from the longer-view history lesson, I just wound up shaking my head, pessimistically thinking they’re all MAGAts these days. Even my own mother (R), who died ~30 yrs ago, would have been susceptible.
While watching snippets of the Fauci attack, I couldn’t help thinking it was just distraction theater — a coverup for their own incompetence and niggardly CDC budget cuts resulting in widespread, unattended, uncontrolled, explosive diarrhea. Oh, and tRump’s war on Iran.
No offense, but people like your mom is exactly who this whole clown show is for. The GOP is trying to unite their fractured base by resurrecting the COVID Madness, anti-science conspiracy theories from 6 years ago. All to distract from a disaster of a war, record-high cost of living, and the Epstein Files. It would be pathetically transparent and frankly, laughable if it didn’t hurt Dr. Fauci so much. I feel so terrible for him and it enrages me that the optics of an entire political party besmirching this man’s reputation and bullying him for cheap political points isn’t more upsetting to Republican voters.
Yesterday’s hearing was abusive. Such questioning and insinuation would never be allowed in a court of law.
I only saw excerpts and the circus of it all upset me to the point that I got emotional. And mad. So. Fucking. MAD that they attempted to threaten and humiliate him. There is no low too low for these assholes.
I have taken to calling the local offices of various misbehaving Republican Senators late at night and leaving messages to the staff expressing my condolences that they have no other career options than to work for an unethical pile of skunk excrement.
I read that they threw his lawyer out of the room because they didn’t want him helping. I also read a legal analysis that said Fauci received a Biden pardon, which should mean that he has to testify because theoretically that means there is no 5th amendment protections needed. The legal analysis was that they were going to try to rattle him into misremembering, or slightly veering off from documentation, anything to turn it into a “lie” to Congress, which would be prosecuted as perjury by these cretins. The lawyer was addressing it to the absolute monsters in the current administration, letting them know that their time will come, and per their own precedent, they will be sitting ducks because investigators will easily find someone in the offices who don’t have a pardon and doesn’t want to go to jail to testify.
The pardon doesn’t protect him against criminal charges going forward. However, if these fascists actually wanted him to answer their nutty questions, they could have granted him immunity. They are absolutely bent on putting an 85 year old career public servant in prison for not supporting their conspiracy theories. It is shameful to this country.
Don’t we all have better things to do than to re-litigate this??? How about the war in Iran?? The economy??? Health insurance??? What is the government doing to make our lives even a little bit better? Oh wait. Nothing.
there’s an election coming up and people who know they are dangerously close to not being re-elected are desperate for sound bites.
I have a college friend who went off the deep end during the Covid vaccine conspiracy hey day. She is now fully RFK’d into the “wellness” movement. I think it’s a combination of mental immaturity and mental illness to believe in these conspiracies.
Where’s Rand Paul’s neighbor when you need him? sorrynotsorry
Always #TeamRandPaul’sNeighbour.
The Republicans are calling Fauci a murderer while gutting Medicare Part D. Senoirs in this country will die next year because they will no longer be able to afford their medications.
The audacity and immorality of Dr. Oz (does he still hold a Turkish citizenship?) openly, smugly causing harm to people while his boss’s goons attack a patriot who actually saved millions of lives is evil, plain and simple.
Vote Democrat in November and every November after.
I’ll add no unicorns, no third party. Now is not the time to split the vote.
Vote blue mainstream up and down the ticket.
It’s absolutely bonkers that Trump could have claimed credit for the genuinely remarkable achievement of the Covid vaccine but instead he panicked and gave in to his idiot followers.
Actually, I give more credit to the remarkable scientists who developed the technology over decades in conjunction with a search for a cancer cure. But it is pretty ironic that MAGA is now sh**ting all over any respectable legacy Trump might have had.
Yes, agree with you 100 percent about the scientists. But he could have gotten some mileage out of it. The one thing that went right during his term and he demonized it.
Republicans are the most evil, low IQ people that have ever existed.
So true. And Dr. Anthony Fauci is a national treasure.
Republicans (which I could call them something else) are hoping they can recreate how angry everyone was at at Biden during COVID. Though they all memory hole how Trump did nothing and how many millions died of it. I loathe Rand Paul especially and anyone up there who has gone to medical school. Fauci provided advice and followed the science. These jerks up there still saying dewormer and other crap could have worked are setting me off again. They are why so many Americans won’t get vaccinated! We have the highest known amount of measles cases in this country right now and everyone is shrugging about it.
He’s smarter asleep, than they are awake!
Dr. Fauci rightly called Rand Paul “unhinged.” The moronic Republicans grandstanding at the hearing are all unhinged — and so incredibly cynical, because they know their party is going to get roasted in November and they are desperate for anything to rally their dispirited base.
Fauci is a freaking hero.
It is absolutely wild how many Republikkkans magically “forget” that mango was president during the start/worst of covid. The hardcore magats are so emboldened by mango’s racism, misogyny and LGBT hatred that they do not care about the truth because they get to punch down. Oh well. Gas prices/winter heating prices are going to explode, the economy is crashing, tourism is stagnating, inflation is completely out of control, the food/water supply isn’t safe, multiple genocides and forever wars are being enabled to launder money to the .001%, the healthcare system is on the verge of complete collapse, the Epstein class are still thriving and prescription drug prices are going to explode for seniors next year. But. Hey. Magat morons can drag an 85 year old in front of congress and the magat knuckle dragging supporters will eat it up. I am so sick of this timeline. I cannot believe I agree with Harvey Levin on anything…
So odd to be watching this hearing while I was in the cancer getting re-vaccinated for everything. Again. Third time in case anyone’s keeping track. I get 3 every 3 months for 18 months and, while it sucks, and I lose a solid 36 hours to post-vaccination misery, you know what stinks more? Shingles, pneumonia, hep-8, diphtheria, measles… I was terrified I’d have to go overseas to get all the vaccinations because of these uneducated clowns and their undisguised loathing of the people they are supposed to serve. We should be heaping medals on Fauci and instead he has to endure this treatment. Seriously, this is the worst timeline ever.
I hope some place like the UN hires him and gets his family safely to Switzerland.
They are returning to this because its just another distraction from Epstein, the Iran war and all of the other vile stuff that they continue to do/have done/will do in the future.
This man saved so many lives in this country and these vile fools treat him like this. He has served many presidents from both parties.
We now have an anti-vax nut job in charge of our country’s health and food supply. We’re on our own.
They are ghouls.
I cannot wait until we conduct our own hearings and trials with these people in the hot seat. Watch ’em melt.
Be well, Dr. Fauci. You were and remain one of this planet’s superheros.