When Fauci called someone a ‘moron’ and other viral moments

He went from being an infectious diseases scientist to a pop icon.

For the first time since 1984, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will roll into a new year with a director whose name isn’t Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Having helped guide two presidents through an historic pandemic, the 81-year-old Brooklyn native announced Monday he would step away from that job when 2022 ends, “To pursue the next chapter of my career.”

While the soft-spoken brainiac showed no interest in establishing himself as a brand or getting involved in the reality TV politics that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, that choice wasn’t always his, as the Cornell University grad’s views of science were often at odds with alternative facts being pushed by the likes of Fox News, Infowars and QAnon.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci (ERIC BARADAT/)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser and face of U.S. efforts to fight COVID, is stepping down in December

Opportunistic politicians looking to make a name for themselves frequently tried to make Fauci a villain in their narratives, but he rarely took the bait. Similarly, left-leaning activists frequently positioned the top researcher as a Herculean figure battling the forces of ignorance — also a caricature that didn’t necessarily jibe with his meek demeanor.

But while his efforts to protect the nation from everything from HIV to the coronavirus will likely be Fauci’s legacy, he doesn’t wander into the sunset without his share of memorable pop-culture moments.

One of the world-class immunologists finest moments came during a Senate health committee meeting in January when Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall challenged Fauci with regards to the transparency of his financial disclosures, only to learn that information is publicly available. After admonishing the senator for being “so misinformed, it’s extraordinary,” Fauci, seeming to think his microphone would not pick up his next statement, grumbled, “What a moron... Jesus Christ.”

The normally restrained NIAID director also lost control in July 2020, when he was invited to throw out the opening pitch in a Yankees game against the Washington Nationals, and reminded the world he didn’t get through medical school on an athletic scholarship.

Wearing a Nationals jersey and a surgical mask, Fauci lobbed a miserable toss toward home plate that missed its mark by several feet. Pity could be heard in the announcers’ voices as they tried to excuse the major league blunder that had just been broadcast live from the nation’s capital.

But Fauci bounced back in August 2022 when he successfully threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game against the Seattle Mariners, where he wore a Mariners jersey.

Despite the fact he isn’t likely to star in a sequel to “Fight Club” or “Troy,” when asked during a CNN interview in early April of 2020 who would play him in a movie, Fauci joked, “Oh, Brad Pitt, of course.”

By the end of the month, Pitt, 58, was on “Saturday Night Live” playing Fauci in the show’s opening monologue.

“First, I’d like to thank all the older women in America who have sent me supportive inspiring and sometimes graphic emails,” Pitt joked, imitating Fauci’s raspy voice.

Weeks later, author Sally Quinn confessed the infectious disease doctor was the inspiration behind her 1991 romance novel “Happy Endings.” She said she met Fauci during a dinner decades ago, and he made quite the impression.

“I just fell in love with him,” Quinn told the Washingtonian.

Fauci found himself in the crosshairs of nasty press coverage in December when Fox News political commentator Jesse Watters used violent language encouraging citizen-journalists wanting to plant a sensational story on his right-wing cable channel to “ambush” the veteran immunologist with disinformation.

According to Watters, aspiring Fox News stars could do that by approaching Fauci with a blank sheet of paper, pretending it’s documentation supporting a controversial coronavirus conspiracy theory, and sending footage of the doctor’s confused reaction to the tabloid cable channel. Terms like “kill shot” and “Boom! He’s dead” were invoked to illustrate Watters’ point that the footage would be inflammatory.

When asked about Watters’ language on CNN — without being presented the full context of what the primetime host had said — Fauci denounced the sensationalist broadcaster’s inflammatory rhetoric.

“That’s horrible. That just is such a reflection of the craziness that goes on in society,” Fauci said. “The only thing that I have ever done, throughout these two years, is to encourage people to practice good public health practices.”

Fauci’s security detail was notched up during the pandemic as threats against him escalated. Earlier this month, a West Virginia man who’d threatened Fauci and his family was sentenced to more that three years in prison.

Dr. Fauci tests positive for COVID

In June, Fauci tested positive for COVID-19. The vaccinated and boosted doctor reported minor symptoms and seemingly bounced back quickly.

He said Monday that serving his country has been “the honor of a lifetime.”

With News Wire Services