‘This Matters!’: Democratic Senator Shreds Anti Vaxxer RFK Jr

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To get to the US Senate for a vote on his nomination, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs to have two committee hearings, and the first one isn’t going well for the bizarre anti-vaxxer. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) grilled Donald’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary over his controversial statements, including on COVID-19, abortion, Lyme disease, and AIDs. Kennedy repeatedly lied, of course.

“Mr. Kennedy, what is so disturbing to me is that out of 330 million Americans, we’re being asked to put somebody in this job who has spent 50 years of his life not honoring the tradition that he talked about at the beginning of this conversation, but peddling in half-truths, peddling in false statements, peddling in theories that you know create doubt about whether or not things that we know are safe are unsafe,” Bennet said.

“Not that every vaccine in America is unsafe, not that you can’t possibly have an adverse reaction, but that parents and children in my old school district and school districts all over this country would be better off not getting vaccinated than getting vaccinated,” he continued. “, Unlike his own children who were vaccinated, unlike the people he invited to his house in Los Angeles for their party who were vaccinated for everybody else, it’s about peddling these half-truths, and he says it with such conviction that you want to believe him.”

“And Mr. Kennedy, I just have some, there are many, many things in the record, but I hope that you could answer these questions yes or no,” Bennet said. “I’ve tried to ask these in a manner that’s faithful to what you actually said because I didn’t want to have a debate about whether you actually said them.”

So I’m asking you yes or no, Mr. Kennedy,” he said. “Did you say that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people?”

“I, I didn’t say it was deliberately targeted,” Kennedy said. “I just, I just quoted an NIH funded an NIH. published study.”

“Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared the Ash II study that showed? I’ll take that as yes,” Bennet said, adding, “I have to move on.”

“Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapons?” Bennet asked. “I made sure I put in the highly likely. Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapons?”

“I probably did say that,” Kennedy admitted.

“I want all of our colleagues to hear it, Mr. Kennedy,” Bennet shot back. “I want them to hear it. You said yes.”

“Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender?” Bennet asked.

“No, I never said that,” Kennedy said.

Fact check: Kennedy’s pants are on fire.

“OK, I have the record that I’ll give to the chairman, and he can make his judgment about what you said,” Bennet said. “Did you write in your book, and I, it’s undeniable that African African AIDS is an entirely different disease from Western AIDS. Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy?”

Kennedy said he wasn’t sure if he wrote that in his book.

“Mr. Kennedy, and my final question, did you say on a podcast, and I quote, I wouldn’t leave abortion to the states?” he asked. “My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have the government involved, even if it’s full term.”

“Senator, I believe that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy said.

“Did you say it, Mr. Kennedy?” Bennet asked. This matters. It doesn’t matter what you come here and say that isn’t true, that’s not reflective of what you really believe, that you haven’t said over decade after decade after decade, because unlike other jobs we’re confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death.”

“For the kids that I used to work for in the Denver public schools and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country in the world that can’t deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them, it’s too important for the games that you’re playing, Mr. Kennedy, and I hope my colleagues will say to the president, I have no influence over him,” he said.

“I hope my colleagues will say to the president,” he added. “Out of 330 million Americans, we can do better than this.”

That’s how you do it. Putting an anti-vaxxing asshole with a bizarre history, including putting baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed his hawks, as Health and Human Services Secretary would be insane. I’m sure we’ll see RFK Jr. featured on Dateline one day.