White House Condemns RFK Jr.'s COVID-19 Claims as 'Vile'

The White House broke its silence on Democratic primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy to condemn his statements suggesting COVID-19 may be designed to impact certain ethnicities over others. 

White House Response: The White House has avoided mentioning Kennedy or his campaign for the Democratic nomination against President Biden. In a rare statement addressing the primary challenger, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “The claims made on that tape are false. It is vile, and they put our fellow Americans in danger,” adding, “Every aspect of these comments reflect some of the most abhorrent antisemitic conspiracy theories throughout history and contributes to today's dangerous rise of antisemitism, and so this is something that, you know, this president and this whole administration is going to stand against.”

Kennedy’s Comments: In a video originally released by the New York Post (Lean Right bias), RFK Jr. states, “There is an argument that (COVID-19) is ethnically targeted… to attack Caucasians and black people. The… most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” After the New York Post report, Kennedy tweeted, “The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out… that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races… That study is here.”

How the Media Covered It: Backlash from the White House and other groups is being covered moderately across the spectrum.