Thought Archive

RFK Jr.’s Senate Meltdown: Why Science, Not Showmanship, Should Lead

05 Sept 2025

RFK Jr.’s Senate Meltdown: Why Science, Not Showmanship, Should Lead

The Hook

When the U.S. health secretary laughs off questions about vaccines and shrugs at COVID death counts, we’re no longer debating policy — we’re debating reality.

Context

At Thursday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced bipartisan outrage. Democrats accused him of gutting the CDC and empowering anti-vaccine voices. Republicans — even doctors who once supported him — warned his policies are making vaccines harder to access.

Kennedy shouted back, dismissed data, and called the ousted CDC director a liar. What should have been a sober review of public health turned into political theater.

My Take

This is the crisis: not just public health, but truth itself. Americans already wrestle with distrust in institutions. When leaders backpedal on science without evidence, that distrust deepens.

We’ve seen this before. Remember the 5G panic? It vanished because it was baseless. COVID vaccines never vanished because the science — while imperfect — held weight. The problem isn’t that people ask questions. It’s that the answers should be anchored in evidence, not spin.

Kennedy showed the opposite:

  • He denied clear numbers — like the 1.2 million Americans who died of COVID.
  • He dismantled expert panels, replacing scientists with skeptics.
  • He blurred vaccine guidance, creating confusion about access.

And here’s the kicker: making vaccines harder to access undermines both sides of the debate. If we believe in pro-choice health decisions, then restricting access is just as wrong as mandating without transparency.

Implications

Vaccine access is not an abstract fight. Recommendations drive pharmacy shelves, insurance coverage, and public willingness. By muddying the science, Kennedy risks undoing decades of progress in controlling outbreaks like measles and influenza.

The bigger picture? A nation already divided over truth and trust now has a health secretary who treats science as optional. That makes us all less safe.

Further Reading

Closing

Science doesn’t erase debate — it grounds it. Vaccines should remain available, transparent, and evidence-based. That’s how you protect choice and trust. Without that, we’re not just losing confidence in leaders — we’re losing confidence in truth itself.