Middle of the night, so good time for ramblings.
Nobody outside of small DC circles knew about Fauci prior to the pandemic. Trump pushed him front and center. Being an insufferable little maniac, he jumped on the stage, going "Look at ME!"
Trump stood back and let him take the stage. Trump let him own the virus response. Now, everyone knows him. He's on GQ, throwing out pitches at baseball games, and he's a 
. I operate on the premise that Trump's smarter than me. I could see Fauci was a weasel immediately. If I can see it, Trump can see it. So, the question was, "Why is Trump highlighting this weasel?"
The virus was going to be released. Trump didn't plan that. He could react to it, and note that he tried to get HCQ, travel stopped, etc. He was fought every step of the way.
Now, though, everyone knows Fauci. Everyone knows it was his plan, and he's fubared every bit of it. People are also starting to figure out that Fauci is a fraud.