Joe Rogan Challenges Furious Vaccine Researcher To Debate Anti-Vaxxer RFK Jr

Podcaster Joe Rogan and billionaire Elon Musk have lashed out at a vaccine researcher who denied Rogan’s recent interview with anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rejected as ‘nonsense’.

Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, tweeted his concerns about the Kennedy interview on Saturday.

Kennedy, who is a long-running Democratic presidential nominee, repeated in the interview his debunked claims that common childhood vaccines cause autism, which Hotez called “just awful” while complaining “it’s clear that many actually believe this nonsense.”

Rogan fired back with a challenge: “Peter, if you claim that what RFK jr is saying is “misinformation,” I’ll offer you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate with him without a time limit in my show.’

Musk quickly agreed to stir up the drama on Twitter, which he owns, by tweeting that Hotez “just hates charity” and said the scientist is “afraid of public debate, because he knows he wrong’.

Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, tweeted his concerns about the Kennedy interview on Saturday

However, in multiple tweets, Hotez indicated his willingness to appear on Rogan’s podcast, which reaches a huge audience of millions on Spotify.

“I’m happy to drop by to have a meaningful discussion. I respect you and your show and I don’t want an adversarial relationship. I think we can make some progress,” Hotez tweeted.

And I’m open to a number of different options, but being pressured now to give you an answer on Twitter, with a take it or leave it demand, that’s not how I operate. Honestly, I don’t even think that would be in your best interest,” he wrote.

Kennedy also indicated his willingness to participate, tweeting, “Peter. Let’s finally have the respectful, sympathetic, informative debate the American people deserve.”

During his appearance on Rogan’s podcast on Thursday, Kennedy reiterated his longstanding and debunked claims that common childhood vaccines cause autism.

Everyone will say, “There’s no research to show that autism and vaccines are linked.” That’s just crazy. Those are people who don’t look at science. It’s part of the religion.’

The Democrat has made a name for himself by being a prominent anti-vaxxer, but his involvement in the anti-vaccination movement increased following the pandemic and the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.

His anti-vaccine charity, Children’s Health Defense, was thriving at the time, with revenues more than doubling to $6.8 million in 2020, according to filings with charity regulators.

Rogan challenged Hotez to debate RFK Jr for a $100,000 donation to charity, while Musk quickly agreed to stir up the drama on Twitter, which he owns.

Kennedy Jr released a book in 2021, The Real Anthony Fauci, accusing the US’s top infectious disease physician of aiding “a historic coup against Western democracy” and promoting unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is intended to treat parasites, and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine.

His opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine has at times linked him to anti-democratic figures and groups.

Kennedy Jr. has appeared at events promoting the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people applauding or downplaying the riots at the US Capitol.

Kennedy Jr. has sometimes invoked his family’s legacy in his anti-vaccine work, sometimes including images of President Kennedy.

His sister Kerry Kennedy, who heads Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights group founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has sometimes removed some of the content at her request.

She told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview her brother is “completely wrong on this point and is very dangerous.”

After Kennedy announced his presidential bid as a Democratic nominee in April, he ranks about 15 percent among potential primary voters, compared to 62 percent for President Joe Biden.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. (left) waves to the crowd at the kick-off of his 2024 campaign, along with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines (right), of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame

Kennedy Jr has declined to openly speculate on Biden’s mental fitness for office, but told Fox News he jumped into the race because he is dissatisfied with what Biden is “doing to this country.”

He specifically pointed to the president’s handling of the ongoing war in Ukraine, which he said should have been settled long ago.

The amount of U.S. dollars sent to Ukraine since the start of the conflict last year currently exceeds $130 billion, a figure that Kennedy says is far greater than the budgets of many of the U.S. alphabet agencies combined.

The nominee suggested that some of that money be spent on the United States instead, citing the fact that 57 percent of Americans cannot afford sudden $1,000 hardship costs.

Kennedy has also attracted a niche audience among conservatives for his vociferous skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as his support for keeping biological men out of women’s sports.