Joe Biden has drawn a primary opponent who is sucking up a little more support than anticipated. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently polling at 21 and 19 percent respectively against the president in the latest Fox News and Emerson polls. That’s earning him more exposure, and ABC News jumped into the fray by doing an extensive interview with Kennedy Jr. on Thursday. The news outlet then proceeded to wreck its credibility in the process.

In a disclaimer shared during the interview, host Linsey Davis explained that producers heavily edited portions of Kennedy Jr.’s answers because they contained “false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.”

Did I wake up back in 2021 and not realize it?

ABC reveals they censored “extensive portions” of their interview with RFK Jr due to “false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.”

Funny how these mainstream outlets make a point to highlight the anti-vaccine views of anyone who speaks up about lockdowns.pic.twitter.com/xGopVm8g3j

— Michael P Senger (@michaelpsenger) April 28, 2023

NEW – ABC News Censors Robert F. Kennedy Jr During His Primetime Interview, Citing 'False Claims' About Vaccines

"During our conversation Kennedy made false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines…We've used our editorial judgement and not included extended portions of that… pic.twitter.com/6cxCZV8QBk

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) April 28, 2023

Because ABC News chose to edit out Kennedy Jr.’s answers during the exchange on COVID-19, I can’t offer a critique of what he actually said. I don’t think it’s that relevant, though. There is essentially no situation where this kind of censorship is justifiable by a news outlet. It also happens to be really dumb as a matter of practicality if the goal is to quash supposed “disinformation.”

Ask yourself what the first thing many people are going to do upon hearing Davis admit they censored the interview. The answer is that they are going to go search the internet to find out what exactly Kennedy Jr. has said in the past about the COVID vaccines. So what is even being accomplished except shining a spotlight on his contentions?

Besides, is it really proper for a news outlet to anoint itself as the arbitrator of what can and can’t be said about the COVID vaccines? Last I checked, it’s now 2023. Anyone that wanted to get the vaccines has already gotten them. No one is changing their mind about them at this point. Further, natural immunity outpaces the vaccines in efficacy, and it’s reasonable to assume that the vast majority of people have obtained it. What I’m saying is that even if one believes Kennedy Jr. is pushing disinformation about the vaccines, who exactly is being protected at this point by censoring him?

Then there’s the biggest elephant in the room. Namely, if Kennedy Jr.’s claims are so easily disproven and obviously false, why not just rebut them on air with proper sourcing? Could the interviewer have not done a few minutes of research to come up with a few responses to what they obviously knew Kennedy would say? It’s incredibly lazy for a press outlet to censor an ideological opponent instead of just proving them wrong.

With that said, given this is the first article on Kennedy Jr. that I’ve written, I’ll just warn people not to get too enamored with him. Yes, he has found some allies on the right when it comes to the COVID vaccines, but he’s still a radical leftist on essentially everything else, especially in regard to environmental issues. This is a guy who called for those who don’t believe in apocalyptic climate change to be arrested and executed. But as a foil to Biden? I’m all for Kennedy Jr. causing chaos within the Democratic Party.