In attempting to rewrite the history of the US Covid-19 response, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday pinned the blame for pandemic lockdowns on Dr. Anthony Fauci, while simultaneously reviving a string of debunked assertions about vaccines, RSV and measles.
Kennedy’s appearance came in the wake of a congressional hearing with Fauci last week, when the infections disease expert invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination more than 100 times, as Republicans lambasted him for his role in handling the pandemic.
Kennedy joined the chorus of criticism on CNN’s “State of the Union with Dana Bash,” saying President Donald Trump, who was in office at the beginning of the pandemic and notably downplayed the virus, was not to blame for the government’s response.
“Trump, as you recall, wanted to end the lockdowns. I think the thing that did the most damage to our country was the lockdowns,” he said.
The lockdowns were overseen by state and local leaders who were responding to ICUs being overwhelmed and hospitals asking for help to get control of the situation in the early stages of the pandemic.
