When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was named the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it was surprising to some. Mostly because he didn’t have any experience in the medical field or in science, like, at all. That Kennedy name seemed to be what Donald Trump was most focused on, though, and he brought RFK Jr. aboard during his second term in office.
RFK Jr.’s background, or lack thereof, was thrown back in his face on CNN, however. In a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter), RFK Jr tells the anchor, Dana Bash, that she may not understand something he’s talking about because she isn’t a scientist. Her response is to remind him that he definitely isn’t either. And she isn’t wrong.
It’s easy for some to forget that RFK Jr. is not a licensed healthcare professional or scientist.
RFK Jr.: “You probably don't understand this because you're not a scientist.”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 2, 2026
Dana Bash: "Well you're not either." pic.twitter.com/AO6UgIkM9Z
In the clip from CNN, Bash asks RFK Jr. if he is using studies to “try and link” vaccinations to autism diagnoses. He clarifies that he isn’t “trying” to link them, but is instead looking at the connection between them. But, according to RFK Jr., Bash may not understand what he’s trying to explain to her because she doesn’t have a background in science.
“Dana, you probably don’t understand this because you’re not a scientist,” RFK Jr. tells her, after he lets out a little laugh, seemingly at her expense.
Bash immediately replies, “You’re not either.” Boom. Mic drop. At least, that’s how some users on X saw the response to RFK Jr.’s condescending line to the CNN anchor.
Someone commented on the X post with the clip to say, “obviously used to talking down to women, love that she didn’t back down to this f–king d–k.”
“This condescending prick knows as much about science as Trump does about Christianity,” another person wrote.
“How is this joke [the] secretary of health in the first place?” Someone else commented. “Seriously, it makes me cringe and I’m not even American. I’m afraid aliens visit Earth, see that, and tell all the other alien planets how f–king dumb humans are. It’s an embarrassment to humanity.”
People caught bots showing support for RFK Jr. instead of the anchor.
In the comments under the post, plenty of X users stood up for Bash and for CNN in general. They also spoke out against RFK Jr. and his tone with the female anchor as he discussed autism and vaccines yet again. Then, there were people who went to bat for the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But, what’s this? Those same users were accused of being bots because, as someone shared in the comments, they posted the exact same responses in support of RFK Jr.
Other parts of the interview which were not shown in the short clip included Bash telling RFK Jr. that she is “frustrated” with what he says on-air, particularly on CNN, because of the message it sends to Americans.
“You are the HHS secretary, and you are talking about things that lead to vaccine hesitancy in this country,” she told him during the on-air interview. “And it is something that causes problems for people.”
RFK Jr. made some bold claims before he was sworn into his White House position.
RFK Jr: COVID is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese https://t.co/A2hamHUr1c pic.twitter.com/jpi3Ykoo8g
— FactPost (@factpostnews) July 28, 2026
Hearing vaccine claims from RFK Jr., despite his lack of a medical or science degree, is not anything new. Even before he was chosen as sworn into his role with Trump, RFK Jr. was known for his theories and ideas that were not necessarily backed by proven scientific evidence. According to NPR, RFK Jr. made claims about Wi-Fi causing “leaky brain” and transgender children being influenced by chemicals found in water.
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