Tony's Diary Package — page 88

The fandom is cross-generational, too. On Facebook, the Dr. Anthony Fauci Fan Club group touts nearly 40,000 members of all ages. They post news articles to keep each other informed, but they also share memes honoring Fauci. In one, Fauci appears on the front page of People magazine as the "sexiest man alive." In another, Fauci's face is photoshopped onto the body of Captain America. One user posted a Trump-like campaign sign, but instead of featuring the president's own infamous slogan, it reads, "Fauci: Make Science Great Again 2020." "Just saw this, and thought I'd share," the poster wrote. "Humor helps me endure." "HUMOR HELPS ME ENDURE" On TikTok, influencers like celebrity blogger Perez Hilton have posted videos featuring Fauci's viral press briefing facepalm from earlier this month. "This is how I feel right now," Hilton wrote in the video's caption. In another, Coldplay's "The Scientist" plays as images of Fauci dissolve into one another beneath the caption, "BREAKING NEWS: Dr. Fauci has been hospitalized from carrying the entire nation on his back." Fauci fandom has also provided comic relief and emotional support for people struggling through this unprecedented crisis. On the Facebook page earlier this week, one member made a plea for reassurance. "Will we ever be able to go back to 'normal'? My anxiety is telling me this is going to last forever..." The post received over 100 replies, a majority of them offering optimistic statistics or messages of support reassuring the user that they weren't alone -- valuable messages at a time when large swaths of the US's population are stuck indoors with their lives entirely uprooted from what they were before. In a moment like this, Fauci has become a comforting figure for those who are struggling. "He's kind of like this kind, old, wise mentor figure that we're thirsty for right now," Scott T. Allison, a professor of psychology who specializes in heroism and leadership at the University of Richmond, told The Verge. "He's the grandfather who will tell it to you straight and tell it to you lovingly." And Americans agree. According to Business Insider, Americans trust Fauci more than President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.