AI Summary
5 min readOn Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the hosts of Clay and Buck covered a packed news day centered on two major developments: the release of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s private diary ahead of his congressional testimony, and the upcoming Michigan Democratic Senate primary. The episode also touched on President Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders, a new New York City tax on second homes, and the ongoing memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham.
Fauci’s Diary and the Upcoming Hearing
The dominant story of the episode was the 1,100-page diary kept by Dr. Anthony Fauci, which was obtained by investigators working with Senator Rand Paul. The hosts and their guest, journalist Alex Berenson, described the diary as far more damning than expected. Berenson, who covered the pandemic aggressively, said he was stunned by the level of “monomania” and “narcissism” in the entries. He noted that Fauci repeatedly wrote about being the most important person in the world, obsessed over interactions with celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts, and referred to critics like Rutgers professor Richard Ebright with profanity. Crucially, Berenson argued the diary contains no serious epidemiological thinking or wrestling with new evidence. Instead, it is a record of a man consumed by his own image.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:56) **Show Open & Top Stories Preview** - Clay and Buck set up the day's biggest stories: Trump meetings with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, Fauci's diary fallout, and the Michigan Senate primary.
- 2 (03:22) **Michigan Senate Race: The Stakes for Control** - Clay breaks down why the open Michigan Senate seat is the most important race for Senate control, with Mike Rogers leading Abdul El-Sayed by 10 points in a new poll.
- 3 (04:46) **Jihadism in Europe & Media Double Standards** - The hosts connect a jihadist attack on a Pride parade in Europe to what they see as Democratic and media efforts to "run interference and cover for jihadism" at home.
- 4 (05:07) **The Fauci Diaries: The Core Allegations** - Clay and Buck detail the damning revelations from Fauci's private diary, contrasting his private knowledge with his public statements during the pandemic.
- 5 (07:06) **Fauci's Legal Strategy: Will He Plead the Fifth?** - Clay and Buck analyze the legal minefield Fauci faces during his Wednesday testimony, debating whether he will plead the Fifth and how Rand Paul might try to trap him.
- 6 (13:23) **Fauciism as a Cult** - Clay and Buck argue that "Fauciism" became a secular religion or cult for tens of millions of Americans, and the diaries expose the cult leader as a fraud who believed none of his own teachings.
- 7 (16:54) **Media Blackout on the Fauci Diary** - The hosts highlight the media's refusal to cover the Fauci diary story, calling it a "sign of whether they're finally ashamed of the Fauci cover-up."
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Show Notes
Meet my friends, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton! If you love Verdict, the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show might also be in your audio wheelhouse. Politics, news analysis, and some pop culture and comedy thrown in too.
Here’s a sample episode recapping four takeaways. Give the guys a listen and then follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Clay Travis and Buck Sexton discuss the growing controversy surrounding newly released excerpts from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s personal diary ahead of a scheduled congressional appearance. Clay and Buck devoted extensive time to discussing revelations they believe contradict Fauci’s public statements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hosts examined claims involving mask mandates, social distancing policies, natural immunity, COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, transmission rates, and fatality estimates. They debated whether Fauci would invoke the Fifth Amendment during upcoming testimony before Congress and discussed the legal and reputational consequences he could face. The conversation also explored allegations that Fauci privately expressed concerns different from the positions he publicly promoted during the pandemic, leading the hosts to argue that the disclosures could significantly reshape public perceptions of the government’s COVID response and the media’s coverage of pandemic-era public health policies.
Clay and Buck conduct an extended interview with journalist and author Alex Berenson, who discussed the contents of Fauci’s diary and its potential impact on the historical understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. Berenson expressed surprise not only that Fauci maintained such extensive personal records but also that the material allegedly revealed a level of narcissism, self-importance, and hostility toward critics that surpassed even his expectations. The conversation examined claims that Fauci’s private writings contradicted several of his public positions on COVID-19, including discussions surrounding vaccine effectiveness, hospitalization rates, natural immunity, pandemic mitigation strategies, and the origins of the virus. Berenson argued that portions of the diary suggest Fauci privately recognized shortcomings in COVID vaccines and other public health claims while publicly maintaining different messaging.
Clay and Buck also returned to the ongoing controversy surrounding Dr. Anthony Fauci’s 1,100-page diary and his scheduled congressional testimony before Senator Rand Paul’s committee. Clay and Buck previewed the upcoming hearing and debated whether Fauci would invoke the Fifth Amendment or aggressively defend his pandemic record. They argued that newly disclosed diary entries have intensified scrutiny over COVID-19 policies and placed renewed focus on inconsistencies between public statements and private assessments. The discussion repeatedly emphasized the broader themes of government accountab
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