Stephen Colbert tore into Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the health secretary cancelled $500 million in mRNA research.
“Bad news for fans of living,” Colbert deadpanned on The Late Show Wednesday.
“We have 10 more months of this show and I want to give a measured, nonpartisan response here,” Colbert said before letting loose: “F*** you, you ’roid-addled nepo-carnie!”
On Tuesday, the Kennedy scion cancelled 22 federal vaccine-development projects that use mRNA technology, calling them ineffective, The New York Times reported. Unlike regular vaccines, which inoculate people with weakened or inactivated viruses, mRNA vaccines use a snippet of virus DNA to trigger an immune response. MRNA technology allowed the quick development of vaccines during the COVID pandemic.
Colbert likened the cancellation of mRNA research to navigating without GPS.
“That’s like saying, ‘Kids, I’m turning off the GPS. We’re going to make our way to Six Flags by using the stars! Hand daddy the sextant!’” he quipped.
A vaccine skeptic, Kennedy justified the cuts by casting doubt on the efficacy of mRNA vaccines: “As the pandemic showed us, mRNA vaccines don’t perform well against viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract.”
Colbert shot back: “F*** you, you roadkill-munching, luddite human Slim Jim!”
“You’re going to kill people!” he added, citing a figure from the National Institutes of Health that mRNA vaccines prevented 14.4 million deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then came the ravens. In a now-infamous clip, Kennedy gestures toward two birds, saying, “These are my two ravens.”
Colbert, incredulous, added: “Oh, right. I forgot. They do love the eyeballs.”
Colbert closed by quoting a University of Minnesota professor who called Kennedy’s announcement “the most dangerous decision in public health” he’d seen in 50 years.
“And keep in mind,” Colbert added, “fifty years ago the base of the food pyramid was menthol cigarettes.”
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