The COVID vaccine is back in the headlines again as 2024 presidential longshot Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questions the jab’s efficacy and potential side effects. Since declaring his candidacy, the White House hopeful has garnered the attention of podcast juggernaut Joe Rogan and crowds of skeptics who have questioned the public health establishment’s record. But RFK Jr. might have found an ally in billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has taken to Twitter to champion Kennedy for asking “important questions” about the coronavirus shots and other vaccines.
“I listened to RFK on several podcasts and a town hall and thought he raised important issues about vaccines and other issues that were worth learning more about,” the CEO of Pershing Square Capital told CNBC on July 5. “I don’t feel like we’ve fully answered questions about the safety of all vaccines, particularly more recently approved vaccines, and our approach to determining their safety and efficacy.”
Ackman joins the growing list of influential Wall Street figures, from David Sacks to Omeed Malik and Chamath Palihaptiya, in lending their support to Kennedy. Ackman also threw $150,000 in the pot for Dr. Peter Hotez to debate Kennedy on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. This has the left-leaning big-box media outraged, shrieking the typical pandemic-era tropes of following the science. But while it might have seemed like eons ago already, the mainstream press once shared this same skepticism under former President Donald Trump. Hypocrisy, thy name is the Fourth Estate.
COVID Vaccines Bad Under Trump
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, many experts contended that COVID vaccines could take years to develop and be released to the general population. Indeed, the typical vaccine development lasts up to ten or more years: create a product, initiate clinical trials to determine safety and effectiveness, undergo the regulatory process, and manufacture enough doses for distribution. This was the leading argument as then-President Trump insisted that a vaccine was around the corner.
Desperate to ensure that Trump did not secure re-election in the 2020 race, the angry foot soldiers of leftism had to sow feelings of distrust among the electorate. The press published various articles and produced many news segments that crafted a particular plot on Trump-era vaccines.
Donald Trump (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
In May 2020, The New York Times ran this headline: “Trump’s Vaccine Chief Has Vast Ties to Drug Industry, Posing Possible Conflicts.” In October 2020, CNN penned this story: “Trump has personally pressured drug company CEOs repeatedly to speed vaccine.” NBC News had this to say in May 2020: “Fact check: Coronavirus vaccine could come this year, Trump says. Experts say he needs a ‘miracle’ to be right.” The news network also warned readers in September 2020 with: “Signs of an ‘October vaccine surprise’ alarm scientists,” which noted in the deck that “such a move could further erode public trust in a vaccine and foist an unsafe shot on Americans.” The Times published this September 2020 piece entitled: “Gerald Ford Rushed Out a Vaccine. It Was a Fiasco.” The article stated that “Trump should keep that in mind as he pushes for a coronavirus shot.”
Of course, there was the endless coverage of notable Democrats sounding a lot like Kennedy and other skeptics today. Speaking from his home in September 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden warned against rushing out the coronavirus vaccine, arguing that the Trump administration had been “recklessly endangering lives. You can’t do that.” During the 2020 vice presidential debate, then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told the debate moderator, “If Donald Trump tells us to take it [vaccine], I’m not taking it.” Harris also told CNN that she would not trust Trump on COVID vaccine safety before the election.
Ultimately, the media branded the chief narrative in the public’s minds: A corrupt Trump administration colluded with Big Pharma to whip up a COVID vaccine as soon as possible, ignoring standards that go into manufacturing vaccines and could threaten your life. What a difference a few days can make, huh? Less than a week after the 2020 election, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the first COVID vaccine. With Trump gone and Biden in, the media and the Democratic Party completely reversed these positions, promising that it was safe and efficacious. Any doubt of the new narrative required accusations of being anti-science or, worse, racist and misogynist. These leaders and Fourth Estate bobbysoxers might have had a case of amnesia, but the internet never forgets. The receipts exist.
Skepticism Is Healthy
Is science supposed to be static with no questions asked? No, it is a discipline that is dynamic. The smartest men and women are constantly discovering something new that requires rewriting previous theories or entirely debunking age-old dogma. Ackman was one of the leading Wall Street cheerleaders advocating for vaccinations, reaping billions in profits during the once-in-a-century public health crisis. Is it so wrong that he asks questions? Is he committing the cardinal sin of groupthink by exiting the bubble and listening to what outsiders are saying? There is a well-regarded magazine called Skeptic. It is a quarterly publication that advances scientific skepticism and promotes the idea of resisting irrationality and pseudoscience. Perhaps the perpetually offended needs to adopt these aims in life. Or the classic George Carlin theory would also suffice: Don’t believe the government, never listen to the media, and think for yourself.
