RFK Jr. Trolls Fauci With ‘Dear Diary’ Meme After He Pleads the Fifth
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. jumped into the Anthony Fauci hearing drama with a short message and a meme that quickly got attention online.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the most visible faces of the federal COVID response, appeared Wednesday morning under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The hearing was titled “Testimony of Anthony Fauci” and was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET on July 29 in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the committee notice cited in the report.
Sen. Rand Paul has been one of Fauci’s fiercest critics for years. The hearing followed Paul’s release of what has been described as Fauci’s “Diary Package” over the weekend. Critics say the material shows Fauci’s concern with his public image during the pandemic era.
Once the hearing began, Fauci reportedly refused to answer questions and invoked the Fifth Amendment. That move immediately fueled fresh criticism from conservatives who have long argued that Fauci has never been fully held accountable for his role in COVID policy, government messaging, and the broader pandemic response.
According to the report, things grew tense after Paul finished a round of questioning. Fauci’s attorney then became involved in the proceedings, and Paul eventually had him removed from the room.
Kennedy’s response was brief, but it landed hard. Posting from his official account, he wrote: “Dear Diary… If I plead the Fifth, will I still be famous?”
He also shared a meme showing himself next to Fauci while holding handcuffs. In the same image, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya is shown holding a beagle. The beagle reference points to years of controversy over taxpayer-funded animal research, including experiments involving dogs that critics have tied to agencies connected to Fauci’s leadership.
Those animal testing allegations have remained a major flashpoint for Fauci’s critics. The Trump administration has also moved to begin shutting down some of those types of experiments, according to the source report.
For Kennedy, the moment was clearly about more than one hearing. It was a jab at Fauci’s public image, his refusal to testify, and the long-running anger over what many Americans see as unanswered questions from the COVID years.
https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/2082487060577898680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw