As I reported on Sunday, the offer from Joe Rogan to vaccine researcher Peter Hotez to debate Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about vaccines lit up the internet over the past couple of days. Rogan made the offer because Hotez attacked Rogan for having Kennedy on his podcast and accused him of spreading “misinformation.” So Rogan was giving him a chance to explain what he thought the “misinformation” was and offering him $100,000 for his favorite charity if he did debate Kennedy without any time limit to make his points.

Now, you would think that would be a golden opportunity to shoot down Kennedy on a show that was guaranteed to have millions viewing it. Over the weekend, with more people jumping in, the offers pushed the debate purse up to over $1.5 million.

But Hotez wouldn’t do it. Elon Musk jumped into the fracas and termed him afraid to debate. Rogan pushed back, pointing out how Hotez had in May tried to characterize him, Musk, RFK Jr., and Tucker Carlson as being part of a coalition with “neofascist leanings” that were perhaps “darker and more dangerous than Trump” and that he hoped Team Biden was “preparing.” That tells you everything about where Hotez’s mind is at. How dare anyone say anything different or raise questions? If RFK Jr. is wrong, why not take him on? If you think he’s a conspiracy theorist and his ideas are based on nothing, then that should just make it easier. And yet Hotez wouldn’t take the opportunity to make his case.

Instead, Hotez went on MSNBC with Medhi Hasan and doubled down, claiming that science is not generally debated, and Hasan compared Kennedy to a Holocaust denier.

Dr. @PeterHotez on why he won’t debate @RobertKennedyJr: “In science, we don’t typically do debates. What we do is we write scientific papers … one doesn’t typically debate science. Maybe the one-off discussion of evolution versus creationism & that sort of thing, but that’s not… pic.twitter.com/amiFU9vI9N

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 19, 2023

Ah, yes, we should just accept what the “scientists” tell us, even though they were wrong about masks and the vaccine itself preventing transmission. Yet they believe themselves to be the infallible experts.

But the reaction to all this from the media was fascinating because it revealed the problem: They immediately all coalesced around this idea that Hotez was sacrosanct and unquestionable, while Kennedy was axiomatically a crank. It didn’t matter that he’s the leading contender for the Democratic nomination and has a substantial following, so maybe you would want to have that debate. He’s simply not worthy and should be dismissed.

Watch CNN’s Jim Acosta go that route here with liberal writer Molly Jong-Fast. “Is this even a debate worth having?” Acosta asks scornfully.

.@MollyJongFast: “[Dr. Hotez] should absolutely not [debate @RobertKennedyJr]. Dr. Hotez … has devoted himself to science. He’s a pediatrician, he’s an incredibly good man … RFK Jr. Is a crank & an anti-vaxxer & we all know why these very wealthy tech bros are pumping him up” pic.twitter.com/q6eFqeuoJz

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 19, 2023

“No,” Jong-Fast says, shaking her head dismissively. She then lauds Hotez and calls RFK Jr. a “crank and an anti-vaxxer.” She then goes on to spread a little conspiracy theory of her own. “We all know why these very wealthy tech bros are pumping him up,” she says, indicating she thinks Musk and Jack Dorsey are pumping RFK Jr. up for some kind of third-party candidacy to prevent Biden from being elected.

It’s sort of hilarious that they talk about not debating him because of misinformation/conspiracy theories and then feature a conspiracy theory from Jong-Fast. There’s no indication, for example, that Musk is even supportive of RFK Jr. Being supportive of a debate isn’t the same thing as being supportive of him as a candidate. There’s also no indication that RFK Jr. would ever run as a third-party candidate. But by doing this, they are doing all they can to dismiss the fact that he is posting some credible numbers in his challenge to Biden within the Democratic Party.

She showed how laughingly thirsty she was for attention herself by trying to flip the script and challenge Rogan to a debate.

And yet still @joerogan refuses to debate me #joeroganwontdebatemolly

— Molly Jong-fast (@MollyJongFast) June 19, 2023

Then Hotez thanks them for their support, as though CNN supporting you is evidence that you are right. That doesn’t help him.

Many thanks to Jim @Acosta and @MollyJongFast for your support, means a lot! https://t.co/xElUoXTq9u

— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) June 18, 2023

He also got support from the podcast of Alyssa Milano, which is probably worth less than CNN.

But here’s the problem, whether the liberals like it or not: There are a lot of people who no longer trust what is being pitched to them by the government and by scientists who were wrong on so many things. Media was also wrong on a lot. What was worse, the media, the government, and scientists were all involved in shutting down opinions that varied from the narrative.

You can call go all-in to coalesce around Hotez avoiding the debate now, but you can’t shut down the questions.