Dozens Of Nobel Laureates Sign Letter Opposing RFK Jr. As Trump’s Health Secretary
RFK Jr. is a dishonest anti-vaxxer who poses a grave risk to our health agencies and the health of children. Honest doctors recognize the threat and are not afraid to call it out. According to the article Dozens Of Nobel Laureates Sign Letter Opposing RFK Jr. As Trump’s Health Secretary:
Seventy-seven Nobel prize winners on Monday sent an open letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing his “lack of credentials” and anti-vaccine beliefs.
“In view of his record, placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the public’s health in jeopardy,” concludes the letter signed by 77 Nobel recipients in medicine, chemistry, physics and economics.
It may be too late, but this the clarity we need at this moment. Everyone should watch the video below to understand why.
Why Doctors Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love MAHA.
Other doctors however, are less clear-eyed and steadfast. As quackery and disinformation threaten core foundations of medicine, they are willing to dissemble and profit. In their view, basic facts are a just a matter of opinion, the stakes aren’t that high, and what really matters is that no one hurts their feelings or interferes with their revenue streams.
In a previous article, I discussed Dr. Adam Cifu and his willingness to remain with Sensible Medicine, a monetized misinformation Substack, after it published a propaganda article titled Why Doctors Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love MAHA. Instead of deciding to stop profiting from such nauseating agitprop, as any pro-vaccine doctor would do, Dr. Cifu stayed and published a rebuttal by Dr. David Taylor titled RFK Jr is NOT the Contrarian We Need.
I didn’t fault Dr. Taylor in my article, a mistake I will rectify here, but rather focused on Dr. Cifu’s introduction. He said:
At Sensible Medicine, there is nothing we like better than spirited debate. It is even better when it happens without me having to respond to one of Dr. Prasad’s prompts. We welcome pieces arguing with anything we publish. We would much rather people submit robust responses to columns that appear here than attack us for publishing pieces they disagree with.
Dr. David Taylor submitted this essay disagreeing with one of Dr. Joseph Marine’s recent columns (Why Doctors Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love MAHA). Personally, I have been worried that in some people’s eagerness to move on from the status quo, they have been too willing to ignore worrisome signs about what comes next. I have also heard people grant appointees opinions that they hope they hold, without evidence that they actually do. I think Dr. Taylor echoes, and extends, my worries.
In my discussion of these sentiments, I noted that I would immediately disassociate myself from any organization that published pro-RFK Jr disinformation. If body-snatchers got to Drs. David Gorski and Steve Novella and SBM published Why Doctors Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love MAHA, my final post here would be of outrage and disgust.
Whatever Dr. Cifu gets paid from this side project, I think that he earned it by getting that anti-RFK Jr article in front of the Sensible Medicine subscribers.
A SBM reader, NativeF1oridian, felt my perspective was lacking, and that Dr. Taylor’s rebuttal was “a step in the right direction”. They provided me with this feedback:
Trying to get your main argument straight… allow me to paraphrase. Dr. Adam Cifu wrote: “We would much rather people submit robust responses to columns that appear here than attack us for publishing pieces they disagree with.” Your interpretation revolves around the idea that is that he is afraid of “attack”, and then you go on to describe all the reasons that an attack are warranted. You then quote from his manifesto: “Motivating biases need not be considered nefarious, only considered.” Seeming disagreeing with the sentence, you are convinced that his monetization is nefarious. Later in the piece, you have specific recommendations for how he should respond: 1) disclose how much money he makes from the Substack and then (2) “denounce” Sensible Medicine “and run away with shame in his heart”.
I have a different interpretation. His quote was a foreword that was followed by what may be the first clearly anti-RFK Jr. article posted by Sensible Medicine. In context, a more charitable (and more realistic) interpretation is that he intended to stress that disagreements were better hashed out via discussion (“robust responses”) rather than character assassination (“attack”). To me, this kind of disagreement within the increasingly misguided Medical Conservatives seems like a step in the right direction. Personally, I am glad to hear they are having such discussions within their group even if most of the commentors (and presumably contributors) disagree.
I am tempted to be encouraged by this development and hope that Dr. Cifu stays and continues to disagree with them about vaccine messaging and RFK Jr.
NativeF1oridian also wrote:
Whatever Dr. Cifu gets paid from this side project, I think that he earned it by getting that anti-RFK Jr article in front of the Sensible Medicine subscribers.
In other words, NativeF1oridian felt it was good to hash it out. If a doctor publishes a pro-RFK Jr. article, the proper response is to explain why RFK Jr. is unsuitable, not “attack” the author of the pro-RFK Jr. article. NativeF1oridian couldn’t fathom how an anti-RFK Jr. article could be bad in any way. They agreed with Dr. Cifu that this is a time for “spirited debate” and “robust responses”. This all seems very sensible.
But it’s not.
This is not the time for “spirited debate” about whether RFK Jr. is a threat. He’s obviously a threat, and this is the time for doctors to be united against him. Just because Dr. Cifu is learning about RFK Jr. for the first time doesn’t mean the rest of us are. Many of us have been tracking him for years, and we have nothing left to learn about him.
We also tried to warn people about him, and now that he is on the precipice of power, we do not need to have “spirited debate” with anyone who tells us to stop worrying and love him. This is especially the case for Sensible Medicine doctors, who themselves spread copious anti-vaccine misinformation about COVID. Our minds are made up about RFK Jr., and yours should be too. There is no argument where reasonable people will conclude, “You know what, maybe RFK Jr. isn’t so bad after all.” The reasons why are obvious and widely-reported. If measles and pertussis come roaring back, we will definitely say “we tried to warn you.”
Defenders of RFK Jr. also have their minds made up. Sensible Medicine’s anti-RFK Jr. article didn’t teach them anything either. Many things in it were important and worth repeating, such as Samoa, but everything in it had been reported 1,000 times for years. Did you know he’s an anti-vaxxer? For RFK Jr.’s supporters, this is either a selling point or worth overlooking because they believe he is right about some vague, larger truth. The vast majority of commentators on Sensible Medicine took these pro-RFK Jr. positions, which reveals the audience they’ve cultivated and nurtured. These people are customers, and most of them are paying for pro-RFK Jr. content.
Sensible Medicine’s anti-RFK Jr. article didn’t change anyone’s mind or teach anyone anything. The “spirited debate” was just empty theater, an intellectual parlor game of wits and words played by doctors who seek to maintain the illusion that their pro-RFK Jr. propaganda won’t have any consequences in the real world. It was also a way for the leaders of Sensible Medicine to market themselves to potential customers as brave defenders of “spirited debate” and “robust responses.”
Spirited debate between honest brokers is appropriate for controversial, uncertain issues. If a doctor wrote an article Let’s Throw Children in Volcanoes, no one should engage in “spirited debate” about this proposal. RFK Jr. is basically that bad, and to suggest there should be “spirited debate” about him negates his threat. It’s another way of saying “He’s really not so scary all. Reasonable people support him.” Because Sensible Medicine’s “anti-RFK Jr. article” treated pro-RFK Jr. propaganda as a reasonable topic for “spirited debate”, it was fundamentally insincere and performative.
RFK Jr Likened CDC to a ‘Nazi Death Camp’ and Vaccinating Children to ‘Sex Abuse in The Catholic Church’
Spirited debate should also be reserved for issues that aren’t emergencies. Dr. Cifu wrote about “worrisome signs about what comes next,” revealing a blissful ignorance of the risk we face. Many of us have been shouting about the “worrisome signs” for years. Instead of considering that he might learn something from us, Dr. Cifu thought it was beneath him. He felt learning about “worrisome signs” was a “waste” of his time, and so today, he doesn’t grasp that we are well past “worrisome signs.” A horror is at the doorstep.
Of course, this is obvious to anyone who can read a newspaper. Here’s what the headlines are saying: Trump Says RFK Jr. Will Investigate The Discredited Link Between Vaccines And Autism: ‘Somebody Has To Find Out’, RFK Jr Likened CDC to a ‘Nazi Death Camp’ and Vaccinating Children to ‘Sex Abuse in The Catholic Church’, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reveals Plans to Fire 600 Federal Health Workers, and Trump to Discuss Ending Childhood Vaccination Programs With RFK Jr.
Will the CDC be indistinguishable from Children’s Health Defense next year? Will flu and COVID vaccines even be available? Will RFK Jr. carry out mass purges of vaccine scientists? Will experts with decades of experience resign in protest and disgust, hollowing out the CDC, NIH, and FDA? Will RFK Jr. uncover “crimes” to help the DOJ fulfill his dream of prosecuting Fauci?
The anti-vaxxers are winning. This a very dangerous moment.
Instead of opposing this, overtly political Sensible Medicine doctors have encouraged it all, including calls for mass firings and prosecutions. Dr. Cifu doesn’t care that his compatriots have inflamed the mob and their thirst for revenge. These attacks don’t bother him at all. If children die of measles and heroic scientists get dragged off to Guantanamo, Dr. Cifu will want everyone to know that he doesn’t support it, but the proper response should be “spirited debate” with doctors who helped enable it.
Dr. Makary on RFK Jr’s Criticism of the ‘Medical Industrial Complex’: Saying Things ‘People Know Are True’.
Anyone who truly recognized RFK Jr.’s risk wouldn’t call for “spirited debate” about any of this. They would vigorously oppose it in every way. This includes unequivocally calling out doctors who spout pro-RFK Jr. propaganda. RFK Jr. is dangerous above all else, which means that doctors who glorify him are dangerous above all else.
Yet instead of honestly recognizing the threat, Dr. Cifu acts a defense attorney for these doctors. Under the guise of being a very reasonable doctor, he amplifies and legitimizes their pro-RFK Jr. misinformation. He dunks on their critics while refusing to engage with the substance of our critiques. This makes him dangerous too.
Indeed, Sensible Medicine’s “anti-RFK Jr. article” praised several pro-RFK Jr. doctors, which obviously bolsters RFK Jr.’s credibility. In addition to Dr. Cifu positively name-checking Dr. Vinay Prasad in the introduction, Dr. Taylor praised Dr. Joseph Marine, the author of Why Doctors Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love MAHA, and Dr. Marty Makary. Dr. Taylor amazingly called Dr. Makary a “serious medical intellectual” who uses “data to inform his position.”
In reality, Dr. Makary is a misinformation doctor whose quest for power led him give interviews such as Dr. Makary on RFK Jr’s Criticism of the ‘Medical Industrial Complex’: Saying Things ‘People Know Are True’. Dr. Makary said:
One thing RFK Jr. did is he would post true stories of children who died immediately after the vaccine. These were otherwise healthy children.
As the article RFK Jr. Spent Years Stoking Fear and Mistrust of Vaccines. These People Were Hurt by His Work explained, RFK Jr. lied about children dying after the COVID vaccine. However, Dr. Makary’s endorsement of a vile anti-vaccine lie didn’t bother anyone at Sensible Medicine. They showered him with praise. Dr. Cifu doesn’t mind that his colleagues spread COVID misinformation and are now cheerleaders for America’s #1 anti-vaxxer. He’s only upset that meany-pants doctors like myself “attack” these doctors, by quoting them and correcting their factual errors.
Those of us who truly oppose RFK Jr. would never collaborate with doctors who boosted RFK Jr. We should treat them the same way we treated anti-vaccine doctors before the pandemic- Dr. Prasad rightfully called one a “quack.” Propaganda videos like these normalized RFK Jr. and brought him to the cusp of power. These doctors will own everything that happens if he is confirmed. As long as Dr. Cifu continues to legitimize and profit from their propaganda, he will be an enabler of RFK Jr. no matter how many “anti-RFK Jr.” articles he publishes at Sensible Medicine.
Absurd people and dangerous ideas are absurd and dangerous.
Absurd people and dangerous ideas are absurd and dangerous. There is no virtue in treating them as legitimate topics for “spirited debate”. Anti-vaccine liars with a body count should clearly rejected and denounced, especially by doctors. This is the lowest bar imaginable. If RFK Jr. and his apologists can’t be dismissed outright, then nobody can.
Yet, Dr. Cifu is perfectly willing to summarily dismiss one group of people, his critics. While Dr. Cifu is willing to become business partners with pro-RFK Jr. doctors, his vaunted interest in “spirited debate” miraculously vanishes when anyone considers his “business model” and “motivating biases”, as he once wisely instructed us to do. When this happens, he reflexively labels it an “attack” to try to shame and discredit his critics.
In contrast, our dedication to spirited debate here at SBM is sincere and genuine. If Dr. Cifu feels I am wrong about anything, he can chime in the comments and explain why it’s fine and dandy for doctors to profit from anti-vaxx, pro-RFK Jr. disinformation. He’s declined my previous invitations to do so. However, anyone can comment here for free, and in the unlikely event someone calls him a “fucking liar“, we wouldn’t tolerate it.
This isn’t Sensible Medicine, after all.