If you tuned into CNN's State of the Union on Sunday expecting a polite chat about public health, boy did you pick the wrong episode. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and anchor Dana Bash went at it like two people fighting over the last parking spot at Costco, and honestly, it was glorious television.
As Trending Politics reported, Bash kicked things off by asking whether Donald Trump deserved some responsibility for the COVID response, not just Anthony Fauci. Kennedy fired back that Trump actually pushed to end lockdowns, which Kennedy called the most destructive policy in the entire pandemic. He rattled off the damage: 3.5 million businesses shuttered without due process, churches closed, schools shut down, and kids still suffering the consequences. Oh, and despite all that misery, the U.S. still managed to have one of the worst death rates among developed nations. So basically, we got the pain without the gain.
Bash tried pushing back, saying governors locked down because hospitals were overflowing with patients. Kennedy was not having it, calling that claim flat out untrue and insisting that Fauci was the one directing lockdowns from the top while ICUs sat empty across the country, including in New York at the peak.
Then came the real fireworks. When Kennedy started talking about protecting constitutional rights during future pandemics, Bash cut him off and said she was asking about public health, not rights. Kennedy, visibly annoyed, dropped the line of the day: "Of course you do, because you were part of the problem." Somewhere a producer's coffee went cold because they forgot to drink it while watching this unfold.
Bash declared that the COVID vaccine worked and prevented deaths, citing mountains of data. Kennedy challenged her to produce even one single study showing the vaccine did more good than harm specifically for children. According to reports, she never named one. That silence was louder than a car alarm at 3 AM.
Kennedy then posed a philosophical question that probably made CNN executives reach for the commercial break button: "Do you see your job as ending vaccine hesitancy, or do you see your job as telling the truth to the American people?" Bash said her job was telling the truth and pointed to numerous studies supporting vaccination.
That's when Kennedy went full savage, telling Bash she was "repeating it like a parrot" and that all she knew how to do was echo what experts told her and demand everyone trust them. He pointed out that Fauci, the so called top expert, turned out to be lying about everything, and accused the media of punishing anyone who dared question the official narrative.
Whether you agree with Kennedy or think he's completely off base, you have to admit this was the most entertaining Sunday morning television since your grandpa accidentally changed the channel to professional wrestling. CNN interviews used to be boring. Now they're basically pay per view events.
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