What To Know
- CNN defended anchor Dana Bash after her heated 21-minute interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- The interview focused on vaccines, COVID-19, and Kennedy’s controversial claims about autism.
- CNN praised Bash for her tough, substantive questioning and reaffirmed its support for her journalism.
CNN is standing by Dana Bash after her interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went off the rails on Sunday’s (August 2) edition of State of the Union.
In the heated 21-minute interview, the pair argued back and forth on the topic of vaccinations, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Trump administration, and Kennedy’s unverified assertions that there are links between vaccines and autism.
At one point in the segment, Bash called out Kennedy for “placing nearly all the blame” of the COVID pandemic on former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci. “But of course, he worked for President Trump,” Bash stated. “Does President Trump also deserve some of the blame?”
Kennedy defended the president while also accusing Bash of “behaving like a parrot” and “talking nonsense.” Towards the end of the tense debate, Kennedy told the CNN anchor, “You probably don’t understand this because you’re not a scientist.”
“Well, you’re not either,” Bash fired back.
Kennedy, who has long held an anti-vaccine stance, recently advocated for adults to sign their children up for the MMR vaccine, to help fight measles, mumps, and rubella. However, he still maintained the unproven theory that certain vaccines cause autism in children.
After Bash noted that Kennedy’s claims have been disproven in multiple studies, the Health Secretary responded, “You have been fooled. Your statement that it has been studied is not true, categorically not true.”
Bash retorted, “Do you understand why people are not getting measles vaccines? Because they’re hearing you say that it could cause autism.”
Following the heated showdown, a CNN spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly, “Dana Bash is a veteran journalist who conducted a newsmaking interview with Secretary Kennedy in which he stated that he supports parents getting their children vaccinated against measles and addressed President Trump’s push for further study into autism and vaccines.”
The statement continued, “Asking tough, substantive questions to those in power is the job of every journalist, and Dana did hers incredibly well today. We stand behind Dana, her reporting, and CNN’s overall coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
State of the Union, Sundays, 9am/8c, CNN