White House senior adviser Peter Navarro has scored a publishing success with his controversial new book, “Why Fauci MUST Rot in Prison,” which secured a place on The New York Times bestseller list during its first week of release. The book calls for criminal prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci over his role in the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Navarro welcomed the recognition, describing the bestseller designation as “a very pleasant surprise,” particularly given his longstanding complaints that conservative authors have received unfavorable treatment from the newspaper’s influential book rankings.

“Perhaps there is a new détente at the NYT in what has been a cold war against conservative books,” Navarro said. “Or perhaps it has become better understood that Tony Fauci’s reign of terror and error harmed men, women, and children in America regardless of political party.”

The Trump adviser has previously accused the newspaper of failing to properly recognize the commercial success of his earlier works. He maintains that sales data compiled by BookScan should have placed both “In Trump Time” and “Taking Back Trump’s America” at No. 1, but that neither received the ranking he believes it deserved.

Published by Skyhorse, Navarro’s latest book presents an extensive indictment of Fauci’s conduct during the pandemic, drawing on government records, personal accounts, and documents that Navarro contends reveal serious failures and contradictions in the nation’s COVID-19 response.

Navarro served as the Defense Production Act policy coordinator during President Trump’s first administration, placing him at the center of federal efforts to secure medical supplies and respond to the pandemic. Throughout that period, he frequently found himself at odds with Fauci over public health restrictions, treatment options, vaccination policies, and the broader direction of the administration’s response.

A central feature of the book is Navarro’s comparison of his own records from the pandemic with more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s private diaries and additional government documents. Navarro argues that the material provides a detailed account of internal discussions that differed significantly from the information presented to the American public.

Among the issues examined are the origins of COVID-19, American funding connected to coronavirus research in Wuhan, China, and the federal government’s treatment of competing scientific theories about how the virus first emerged.

Navarro accuses Fauci of attempting to discredit the possibility that the virus originated in a laboratory and of supporting pandemic restrictions and medical policies that Navarro believes inflicted enormous damage on the country.

He describes Fauci as the “godfather of the pandemic,” arguing that his influence over federal health policy contributed to decisions that affected millions of Americans.

Fauci has repeatedly rejected allegations that he engaged in misconduct or deliberately misled the public. The criminal accusations advanced by Navarro have not been proven in court.

The book has attracted favorable reviews from a number of doctors and researchers who have publicly challenged the federal government’s pandemic policies, particularly its handling of early treatment options and vaccine recommendations.

Cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough praised Navarro’s “action and information packed firsthand account of battling the corrupt, tyrannical, and harmful pandemic response.”

Virologist Dr. Robert Malone said he approached the book skeptically, looking for factual weaknesses or inconsistencies that Fauci’s supporters might use to challenge Navarro’s conclusions. After reviewing the material, Malone offered a strong endorsement of the author’s documentary approach.

“Navarro has the diaries, the emails, and the dates. He built a case that survives cross-examination,” Malone said.

Dr. Harvey Risch, professor emeritus of epidemiology at Yale University, similarly praised the book, describing it as “the definitive reckoning,” while accusing Fauci of promoting misleading information about treatments during the early stages of the pandemic.

The 336-page hardcover, released October 20, also features a foreword by Steve Bannon and examines controversies surrounding lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, and the government’s handling of natural immunity and vaccine-related concerns.

The book’s commercial success has been accompanied by a dispute involving Barnes & Noble. Navarro accused the bookseller of refusing to stock the title because of its “wokeness,” while publisher Skyhorse expressed frustration over what it characterized as resistance to controversial political viewpoints. Barnes & Noble does, however, list the hardcover and electronic editions in its online catalog, with the hardcover currently shown as out of stock online.

The New York Times bestseller recognition places Navarro’s book at No. 14 on the hardcover nonfiction list dated November 8, 2026, alongside titles by Newt Gingrich, Brian Kilmeade, Malcolm Gladwell, and other prominent authors.

The publication comes as questions surrounding the origins of COVID-19, American funding of coronavirus research, and the decisions made by federal health officials continue to generate political controversy. Navarro’s book seeks to turn those disputes into an argument for legal accountability, although Fauci has denied wrongdoing and no court has established the criminal allegations advanced against him.

“Why Fauci MUST Rot in Prison” is available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook editions through online retailers.