After President Donald Trump moved to yank Dr. Anthony Fauci’s exorbitantly expensive security detail shortly after stepping back into office, footage has surfaced on social media showing how lavish the services provided to the Covid-19 czar were. As Fauci quickly became a polarizing figure amid the pandemic, the National Institute of Health (NIH) provided security that reportedly cost $20,000 per day.
Over the past few days, a clip has gone viral on X, showing what Fauci’s security detail looked like. In the video, the former director of the NIH rolled up to meet an interviewer in a luxury SUV, with a full squadron of security personnel outfitted in suits. One of the men opened the door for Fauci, as a chauffer would, before he hopped out to greet the reporter.
The popular conservative X account Amuse shared the clip, pointing out that Fauci’s “security” funded by the taxpayer seemed more like a luxury. “SECURITY: Here is what Dr. Fauci’s $20K per day security was like. It was more chauffeur and valet than ‘security’. I’m glad Trump cut this extravagant expense for the multi-millionaire,” the post read.
A few days prior to the story breaking that Fauci’s security was revoked, Amuse addressed the topic in another post. “DOGE: Can someone check to see if we’re still paying $20,000 a day for Dr. Fauci’s personal chauffeur and security detail? Over the last two years, American taxpayers have shelled out a whopping $15 million to maintain the lifestyle to which the “good doctor” has grown quite accustomed,” Amuse wrote on January 22.
The account added, “Fauci’s net worth sits comfortably at over $11 million, and he once held the title of highest-paid federal employee at $480,000 per year. In retirement, he draws an impressive $350,000 annually, a figure that surpasses most working Americans’ salaries. He’s also pocketed undisclosed royalties from 37 drug patents, and let’s not overlook the nearly $1 million award from the Dan David Foundation, given – ironically – for “speaking truth to power.” And then there are the book deals and potential movie rights…”
Speaking about the move during a Western North Carolina press conference, Trump explained that no person is entitled to a lifetime of security because they work for the government. “I think you know, when you work for government … at some point, your security detail comes off, and you know, you can’t have them forever,” he told a reporter.
“So I think it’s very standard, if it would be for somebody else, you wouldn’t be asking the question.” Trump emphasized. He continued, “The question is very fair, but, you know, you work for government. We took some off other people too, but you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life because you work for government.”
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Watch Fauci’s limousine below:
Trump further noted that Fauci can provide his own security given his wealth. “They all made a lot of money. They can hire their own security too. All the people you’re talking about, they can go out, I can give them some good numbers of very good security people. They can hire their own security. They all made a lot of money. Fauci made a lot of money,” he said.
Watch Trump below: