RFK Jr torches CNN anchor Dana Bash for 'press malpractice' over COVID coverage in explosive clash

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr.

accused CNN anchor Dana Bash of COVID-era media malpractice Sunday, saying she failed to challenge public health authorities and helped marginalize dissenters during the pandemic."You were part of the problem.There was absolute press malpractice.

Your job — your job — is a fierce skepticism toward authority, and you weren’t doing that," Kennedy said on "State of the Union.""You were beating up on people who were dissenting," the HHS secretary added.Kennedy leveled the attack after Bash asked how HHS would prepare for another pandemic and tried to move him away from re-litigating the prior federal response.Bash pushed back, saying she was trying to ask how Kennedy would prevent another public health crisis.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr.

accused CNN anchor Dana Bash of COVID-era "press malpractice" on "State of the Union." (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)EX-CBS REPORTER CLAIMS QUESTIONING FAUCI GOT HER 'PULLED OFF AIR' DURING COVID PANDEMIC"I also don’t want to use this interview to allow you to say things that aren’t entirely true," Bash said."You’re talking about therapeutics.

Fine.It is also factually true that the COVID vaccine worked.

The COVID vaccine prevented deaths.There is data, upon data, upon data."CDC and Harvard researchers estimated in 2023 that primary vaccination could have prevented at least 232,000 deaths among unvaccinated U.S.

adults.After Bash acknowledged the frightening nature of the pandemic and said officials made mistakes, Kennedy accused CNN of contributing to public fear."You were scaring people," Kennedy said.Bash pushed back after Kennedy told her she was "part of the problem" during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic)INSIDE FAUCI'S PRIVATE DIARY: WHAT HE WROTE ABOUT TRUMP, TV PERSONALITIES AND CELEBRITIESBash asked why he believed CNN had frightened viewers, prompting Kennedy to point to its pandemic chyrons."Because that wa...