4 highlights from RFK Jr.'s contentious interview with Dana Bash: 'You were part of the problem'
3. Kennedy accuses CNN of spreading fear, propaganda: 'You're repeating it like a parrot'
When Bash conceded that not everything about the pandemic response was based on accurate information and that "it was a scary time," Kennedy alleged that CNN especially was responsible for spreading fear during the pandemic.
"You were scaring people, because that was the job of CNN, was to put the chyrons up about how many people are dying to get people to comply," Kennedy said, prompting heated crosstalk.
CNN: “Covid was a scary time.”
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) August 2, 2026
RFK JR: “You were scaring people.”
CNN: “Why are you saying that?”
RFK JR: “Because that was the job of CNN. To put the chyrons up on how many people are dying to get people to believe a lie.” pic.twitter.com/vkXJTlKfEw
When Bash moved on to the measles outbreak and asked Kennedy if he took any responsibility for it because of his outspoken vaccine skepticism, Kennedy said that the outbreak has been international and could not be blamed on him.
He also noted Fauci predicted in his private diary there would be a spike in measles from children not getting their MMR vaccines because of the lockdowns. When pressed to assure Americans that the MMR vaccine is effective, Kennedy stopped short of calling them safe.
.@SecKennedy completely schools @DanaBashCNN again: "First of all, this is an international outbreak, and we're doing better at handling it than any country in the world... Canada has 4x the amount of measles. England has 2x the amount of measles. Did I cause those measles… pic.twitter.com/K2jTqWVv1M
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 2, 2026
"A measles vaccine is effective. It stops measles in about 97% of the cases. People should get vaccinated," he said.
