We've written before about the mainstream media's penchant for seeming to manufacture alleged "feuds" between various members of the Trump administration, citing unnamed sources who have suggested, among other things, feelings of resentment between cabinet officials and among senior advisors.
One of the more notable ones, which we wrote about at the time, involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, and a longtime close friend of President Trump. A CNN hit piece from March claimed without evidence that Rubio was miffed because he allegedly thought he was being "overshadowed" by Witkoff.
Not only did Witkoff shut the rumor down, but so did Rubio, with the latter tweeting that "CNN is an anti-Trump gossip tabloid that uses thinly sourced stories to generate clicks and try to make trouble. Witkoff is one of the people I work with the CLOSEST on our team. These people are pathetic."
READ MORE: Marco Rubio Minces No Words After Media Tries to Manufacture Another Trump Admin 'Conflict'
Unfortunately, the same network is at it again, this time as it relates to alleged tensions between Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latter of who faced a hostile audience during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday but who more than held his own against Big Pharma Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) among others.
During a Thursday afternoon segment, anchor Kasie Hunt brought on former "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd of all people to bash Kennedy for supposedly being incompetent and "easily the most unqualified cabinet secretary we've ever had," and one who is allegedly "putting lives in danger" by trying to right the wrongs and correct the extreme damage done to the credibility of public health institutions during the pandemic.
SEE ALSO: CDC Needs to Answer for Its Failures Before Blaming RFK, Jr., for Anything
Here's a partial transcript:
This one is putting lives in danger. Within eight months now, we have multiple states deciding to start their own vaccine protocols, their own, you know, feeling as if they can't trust the CDC. This is why the White House -- and here's the thing. There are people at the White House who have been alarmed by Kennedy, and it's Trump that says, you know, he's afraid of losing the Kennedy constituency, and he's just been letting Kennedy go, letting Kennedy go.
At some point, this will break. And I do think he throws Kennedy overboard. But, you know, he loves his trophy. And for him, the trophy is I got a Kennedy, right? And it is -- it is -- that's the biggest problem they're running into.
Watch:
CNN guest Chuck Todd claims that Trump is near a breaking point with HHS Sec. Kennedy and almost ready to “throw him overboard.”
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) September 5, 2025
Context matters, and in this case, there are polls showing Trump and RFK Jr. as being two of the most popular figures in politics.
Recently, Trump… pic.twitter.com/NCM3n3TvW9
Interestingly, CNN would later report that Trump was pushing back on the unsubstantiated claims that Todd and others on the CNN panel, including Hunt, were making about his working relationship with RFK Jr.:
In a further rebuke of Todds perspective, CNN is reporting this morning that the Trump administration is "sticking by" the HHS Secretary.
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) September 5, 2025
Trump last night at his dinner also commented on the claim, saying, "I heard he did very well today. I like the fact that he's different." pic.twitter.com/I3AlLOAoG4
First, how laughable was it that Hunt brought on media-affiliated panelists, including Todd and NYT opinion audio podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro (formerly of NPR), neither of whom are "medical experts" who can substantiate their claims of Kennedy allegedly being "dangerous" and "putting lives in danger."
Not that having medical experts would have made the segment any better, considering we also had medical experts during the COVID pandemic who were militant in their disdain for people who refused to toe the CDC's and NIH's lines when it came to matters of public health.
But you've really got to hand it to Todd, Hunt, and Garcia-Navarro for their "no lessons learned" approach in dealing with the debate over RFK's time at HHS so far and the way forward to trying to restore the public's faith in public health institutions.
I’ll only listen to scientists who confidently and unequivocally tell me this is a woman. pic.twitter.com/y5wrufQ2a2
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) September 4, 2025
As we reported, Vice President JD Vance also put a finer point on it Thursday in reaction to the holier-than-thou theatrical performances of some of the committee members during the hearing (language warning):
When I see all these senators trying to lecture and "gotcha" Bobby Kennedy today all I can think is:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 4, 2025
You all support off-label, untested, and irreversible hormonal "therapies" for children, mutilating our kids and enriching big pharma. You're full of shit and everyone knows it.
'Nuff said.
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