Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a fiery back-and-forth with CNN host Dana Bash concerning the government’s response to COVID following testimony delivered by former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci before the Senate toward the end of July 2026. And things got very intense between the two during the show.
In a viral video clip of the exchange, Bash can be heard saying, “I am not saying that the entire way that the COVID reaction was accurate. It was a scary time, and people made mistakes. Absolutely.” And right off the bat, RFK jumps down Bash’s throat, saying, “You were scaring people.” Bash responds, “Why are you saying that?”
Again, wasting zero time, RFK says, “Because that was the job of CNN.” Getting clearly flustered, Bash tries to get the secretary to stop, but he pushes forward, saying, “The job was to put chyrons up about how many people are dying.” She fires back, “We were trying to be…We were listening to the leaders in this country, including the president, who had a daily press conference explaining what was going on, and trying to listen.”
RFK pushes back against the claim that CNN was listening. At that point, Bash attempts to shift the conversation over to measles and the secretary’s take on vaccines. Which is a topic featured in a second viral clip being passed around on social media. Bash says, “You are the HHS secretary, and you are talking about things that lead to vaccine hesitancy in this country, and and it is something that causes problems for people when there is not anything –”
“Let me ask you something: Do you see your job as ending vaccine hesitancy, or do you see your job as telling the truth to the American people?” Kennedy interjects, challenging the clearly left-leaning CNN host to admit she’s a narrative pusher and not a true journalist. “I see my job as telling the truth, and the truth is that there is study after study after study. It’s one of the most studied things out there in science, and it is like a parrot,” the host continues.
“You’re repeating like a parrot,” Kennedy answers. “I actually read the science. You don’t want to hear and debate this.” Bash then claims she’s not debating the secretary on the issues she’s brought up concerning vaccines, but RFK isn’t buying what she’s trying to sell. “Of course you are,” he replies, adding “All you know how to do is repeat things that people told you and say ‘trust the experts.'”
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“That’s what you heard during COVID. Now we know that Andy Fauci, who was the expert, was lying about everything, about masks, about the social distancing, about natural immunity, about the transmission from the vaccine, about the source of COVID, he was lying, and you were punishing people for not trusting the experts,” he continues as he rips a new one in Bash and the mainstream media for their coverage of COVID.
“And now you’re rolling out the experts again to talk about something that you have no personal knowledge of,” Kennedy says. Bash tries to strike back, saying, “Well, guess what? That is my job, to talk to people. My job is to get as much information as I can. What we were doing in COVID, and still, with regard to these vaccines, is get the best information, the best science we can, and putting it out there. And sir, what you are doing is causing information to be out there that is not accurate.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video