Chris Christie: RFK Jr. a ‘joke’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday called Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “joke” amid turmoil in Kennedy’s own department.

“You looked at that appearance before Congress, and it just confirms what all of us around this table have known for decades: Robert F Kennedy Jr. is a foolish man, full of foolish and vapid ideas,” Christie said on ABC News’s “This Week.”

“And that was on display again this week in front of Congress,” he added, later slamming the HHS secretary as “a joke” in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

On Sunday, President Trump defended Kennedy, who has faced rising criticism from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill over his handling of vaccines and other issues.

The president has offered somewhat conflicting messages in recent days about his HHS secretary, defending Kennedy while also defending vaccines.

Kennedy defended his time as the nation’s top health official during a tense Senate hearing last week, snapping back at senators who pressed him on the recent upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and vaccine policy changes.

During close to three hours of testimony, Kennedy repeated vaccine misinformation, went after the CDC and gave differing explanations on his vision for reshaping the agency.

“Unlike some federal officials, Secretary Kennedy refuses to accept the failed status quo that has eroded public trust in public health institutions and left Americans sicker year after year,” an HHS spokesperson told The Hill in an email Tuesday.

“Instead, he has remained laser-focused on gold-standard science, radical transparency, and tackling the chronic disease epidemic head-on.”

—Updated Sept. 9 at 1:06 p.m. EDT