(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) An impromptu Twitter fundraiser generated more than $2.6 million in pledges to sponsor a debate between presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and jab-pushing “scientist” Peter Hotez, who counts among his roles the director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.
6/18 11pm EST UPDATE
💰 The Peter Hotez vs. RFK Jr Charity Debate Pot Is Now Over $2.62 MILLION!!
Here is the Leaderboard:
1) $777k – @jaekwon
2) $500k – @Cobratate
3) $250k – @realnickmugalli
4) $150k – @billackman
5) $100k – @joerogan
6) $100k – @patrickbetdavid
7) $100k -…— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) June 19, 2023
The “bounty” for the debate was started by podcaster Joe Rogan, who has hosted both RFK Jr. and Hotez in the past.
Hotez—who previously called for vaccine skepticism to be considered a hate crime—publicly attacked Rogan following a recent appearance by the prominent political scion, who is currently challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.
In response, Rogan offered to donate $100,000 to charity if the two would agree to debate on his show, the New York Post reported.
Peter, if you claim what RFKjr 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. https://t.co/m0HxYek0GX
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) June 17, 2023
Following Rogan’s seed money, pledges continued to roll in, many of them from prominent conservative media personalities.
Kennedy—an outspoken vaccine skeptic for years before Democrats began to champion them as a cause célèbre during the COVID-19 pandemic—has found a growing following among red-pilled classical liberals, despite having his campaign frozen out by social media and mainstream media outlets.
“‘Trust the experts’ is not a function of science,” he said during his interview with Rogan. “It’s the opposite of science. Trusting the experts is a function of religion and totalitarianism.”
In response, Hotez wrote in a since-deleted tweet that Rogan did not offer a big enough purse to warrant a serious response.
“Be serious Joe, that’s what you throw for your hunting buddies on a weekend,” Hotez said.
“A $50 million endowment (which You/Spotify/ RFK Jr can easily afford), not for me but so we can continue making low-cost patent-free vaccines for the world’s poor. Preceded by RFK Jr’s public apology.”
Meanwhile, Kennedy, agreed to a “respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve.”
Rogan later responded to Hotez, noting that he has a chance to make his points before a huge audience.
“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,” Rogan suggested.
“If you think someone else is better qualified, suggest that person,” he added.
In a prior appearance on Rogan’s podcast, Rogan grilled Hotez for promoting Big Pharma injections while neglecting to care for himself in the most basic ways.
.@JoeRogan grills Dr. Peter Hotez for exclusively promoting vaccines while disregarding exercise, vitamins, and a healthy diet:
"There's a large body of data that connects poor diet to a host of diseases… You don't think vitamins are needed while you eat junk food?" pic.twitter.com/5RNmAEReTf
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) June 18, 2023
“I’m a junk-food-aholic,” Hotez said as Rogan questioned him, befuddled.
“Sometimes it’s not all brain,” Hotez added, explaining the reason for his junk food addiction. “It’s something else.”
After being mocked and harangued on Twitter and elsewhere for his craven refusal to debate Kennedy, Hotez desperately attempted to rehab his reputation by appearing on more sympathetic leftist media outlets to explain why it was not necessary for him to defend his controversial positions, comparing vaccine skepticism to Holocaust denial.
MSNBC host Medhi Hasan encourages Peter Hotez to NOT debate @RobertKennedyJr and laments that @elonmusk is encouraging it.
He compares those on RFK Jr’s side to holocaust deniers.
Hotez agrees: “In science, we don’t typically do debates.” pic.twitter.com/tYHlG2bZr2
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 19, 2023
Meanwhile, noted vaccine skeptics on Twitter, including Simone Gold of America’s Frontline Doctors, continued to expose Hotez’s past extremism and dishonesty.
🧵THREAD: @PeterHotez is a sincere and non-corrupt scientist who has been right about everything in the last three years. pic.twitter.com/Hp4oMnkr5c
— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) June 18, 2023
