At the height of the COVID pandemic, or what was more accurately the Communist Chinese bioweapons attack on America, Anthony Fauci was so popular and respected by the public that people were buying Bobbleheads of him, like he was a star athlete and it was gameday for the home team. Now, 46% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Fauci should be in jail.
Three recent polls by the highly respected Rasmussen Reports reflect how far Fauci has fallen in the public estimation.
An August 6, 2026 survey found that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters believe Fauci should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions in a July 29 hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Forty-one percent (41%) don’t think Fauci should be prosecuted for contempt, and 13% are not sure.
However, there’s a stark political divide in the numbers: Fauci is viewed at least somewhat favorably by 67% of Democrats, but only 28% of Republicans and 41% of unaffiliated voters share that opinion.
And it is not just his refusal to answer the questions put to him during a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Another Rasmussen survey found reports that data about COVID-19 vaccine safety were concealed from the public have a majority of voters ready to mete out punishment on government officials involved.
The national telephone and online survey found that 71% of Likely U.S. Voters believe it’s a serious scandal that senior officials at the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were aware of high numbers of severe side effects from COVID-19 vaccines, and hid the data from the public. That includes 50% who consider it a Very Serious scandal. Twenty-two percent (22%) don’t think it’s a serious scandal, including 10% who say it’s Not At All Serious.
In April, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report that chairman Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, said showed “how senior officials at the FDA turned a blind eye toward warnings that their vaccine safety monitoring system was hiding safety signals for the COVID-19 vaccines.”
If it is proven that officials at the FDA and other federal agencies concealed data about severe side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, 21% of Likely Voters believe such officials should be removed from their jobs. Eleven percent (11%) think officials who concealed vaccine safety data should have their medical licenses revoked, and another 11% say they should be criminally prosecuted. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say “all of the above.” Just 10% believe officials who concealed data about severe side effects of COVID-19 vaccines should not be punished at all.
Once again there was a stark political divide in the numbers – a majority (51%) of Democrats believe COVID-19 vaccines were Very Safe and Effective, that level of confidence is shared by only 18% of Republicans and 32% of voters not affiliated with either major party.
Majorities of every political category – 88% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters – consider it at least a somewhat serious scandal that senior officials at the FDA were aware of high numbers of severe side effects from COVID-19 vaccines, and hid the data from the public.
Majorities of every political category also believe there should be some kind of punishment for officials at the FDA and other federal agencies if it is proven that they concealed data about severe side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Nearly half (47%) of Republicans favor an “all of the above” punishment, as do 28% of Democrats and 37% of unaffiliated voters.
However, it is the concealment of the data on miscarriages of pregnancy that sparked the most outrage.
Revelations that Dr. Anthony Fauci knew about potential miscarriage risks from COVID-19 vaccines is a serious scandal, according to two-thirds of voters.
An August 19, 2026 Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey found that 66% of Likely U.S. Voters believe it is a serious scandal that Fauci knew of the risks while publicly insisting there were “no red flags” for pregnant women getting the COVID-19 vaccine. That includes 48% who say it’s a Very Serious scandal. Twenty-seven percent (27%) don’t think it’s a serious scandal, including 15% who consider it Not At All Serious.
Text messages obtained by the Senate Homeland Security Committee show that Fauci was aware of concerns that the COVID-19 vaccine could be linked to miscarriages in expectant mothers. Despite such potential risks, some employers made vaccination mandatory as a condition of employment. Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters say they got a COVID-19 vaccination as a result of such a compulsory order, while 63% did not.
Among those who got a COVID-19 vaccine because it was mandated by their employers, 74% consider it a serious scandal that Fauci knew of potential miscarriage risks from the vaccines while saying publicly the vaccines were safe.
Majorities of every political category – 81% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats and 59% of unaffiliated voters – think it’s at least a somewhat serious scandal that Fauci knew of the risks while publicly insisting there were “no red flags” for pregnant women getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
