Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services, “failed” in his reaction to Friday’s shootings at the CDC offices in Atlanta, according to a former U.S. surgeon general who made the statement on Sunday.
Dr. Jerome Adams stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Secretary Kennedy has failed in his first significant test as a leader, which is how he responds to a crisis.
Adams called Kennedy’s reaction to the shooting “tepid” and blasted the secretary for being slow to respond to the tragic event.
A member of President Trump’s first term, Adams lamented that Trump needed more than 18 hours to respond weakly to the awful killings, and that doesn’t even take into account the ways in which his previous inflammatory statements have exacerbated the situation.
Requests for comment were not promptly addressed by an HHS representative.
Adams is furious because on Friday, a shooter killed one police officer and hit other CDC buildings at the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 30-year-old gunman allegedly said that the COVID-19 vaccination was to blame for his depression and thoughts of suicide. The agency’s guidelines for healthy children have been limited and advice for pregnant women have been removed under Kennedy’s leadership.
The Covid vaccination is only one of several that Kennedy has previously said he doesn’t believe in. Some of the COVID-19 vaccinations were developed using mRNA research, which he said last week will no longer receive $500 million in support from HHS. Kennedy maintained that the decision was based on safety concerns, but his detractors contended that those fears were baseless.
Officer David Rose’s family and other CDC employees impacted by the tragedy were the recipients of the secretary’s sympathies on Saturday.
For Kennedy, “no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others” was the message she tweeted. “We are grateful for the service they received. We support their cause. Furthermore, our shared goal of ensuring and bettering the health of all Americans remains unwavering.
However, Adams suggested that the gunman may have been influenced by Kennedy’s statements on the CDC, such as his characterization of the organization as a “cesspool of corruption.”
The comment was made by him last year, according to Adams. On top of that, he has not explicitly denounced the violence. In his view, protecting the public should not put anyone in danger. Margaret, there is someone out there. At least in the view of some, violence is acceptable if one does not believe that individuals are attempting to safeguard the public.