A vaccine scientist who was challenged by podcaster Joe Rogan to debate 2024 Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to the demands and claimed that scientists “don’t typically do debates.”
“In science, we don’t typically do debates,” Dr. Peter Hotez said in an MSNBC interview over the past weekend, responding to Rogan’s request. “What we do is we write scientific papers … one doesn’t typically debate science. Maybe the one-off discussion of evolution versus creationism and that sort of thing, but that’s not what we do in science.”
And he went a step further, saying: “Anti-vaccine disinformation … is now a lethal force in the United States. I offered to go on Joe Rogan but not to turn it into the Jerry Springer show with having RFK, Jr. on.”
Hotez also spoke with an individual, Alex Rosen, during an interaction that went viral, telling Rosen that it’s “harassment” when he asked him about the debate. While Hotez mostly remained silent, Rosen asked questions about whether he believes in “vaccine injuries.”
And on Sunday, Hotez told his Twitter followers that he “was stalked in front of my home by a couple of antivaxers taunting me to debate RFK, Jr,” coming about 24 hours after his initial posts were made.
The incident started when Hotez posted a Vice article that was published late last week that criticized Rogan and Kennedy, who has long been a critic of childhood vaccines. Rogan had spoken to Kennedy in a wide-ranging interview on his podcast in which the presidential candidate touched on vaccine injuries.
In response, Rogan called for Hotez to debate Kennedy on his podcast, offering him $100,000 to a charity of his choice. Hotez, a vaccine proponent who has been a frequent guest on MSNBC and CNN during the COVID-19 pandemic, responded by asking for Rogan and Spotify, which hosts his show, to donate $50 million to various causes before he deleted the Twitter post.
His initial response was, “Joe, you have my cell, my email, I’m always willing to speak with you.”
But Rogan wasn’t pleased. “This is a non answer. I challenged you publicly because you publicly quote tweeted and agreed with that [expletive] Vice article,” he wrote in response. “If you’re really serious about what you stand for, you now have a massive opportunity for a debate that will reach the largest audience a discussion like this has ever had. If you think someone else is better qualified, suggest that person.”
“Peter, if you claim what RFK, Jr is saying is ‘misinformation’ I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit,” he added.
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