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By Jamie Burton
Senior TV & Film Reporter (Interviews)
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Despite refusing an offer to debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Joe Rogan's podcast, Dr. Peter Hotez is adding fuel to the fire of their feud.
After RFK Jr. appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and spoke about his anti-vaccination views, Hotez accused Rogan of broadcasting misinformation. On June 17, the podcast host and comedian replied saying he'd give $100,000 to the charity of Hotez's choice if he sat down and debated RFK Jr. Hotez refused this offer.
Although he turned down a public debate with RFK Jr., Hotez, dean at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, is continuing to criticize the Democrat, and recently stood his ground when he was criticized for not being as healthy as the man four years his senior.
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"Who looks healthier? RFK Jr is 69 years old. Dr. Hotez is 65 years old. Makes you think..." author, podcast host and businessman Patrick Bet-David wrote on Twitter.
He included screenshots of Hotez posing for the camera in his lab coat, and a screenshot of RFK Jr. shirtless after working out. The video of RFK Jr. working out at an outdoor gym was viewed over 15.5 million times on Twitter.
Hotez remained unimpressed though. "Not sure I get the logic here? I make low-cost patent-free vaccines to help people in low-income countries achieve equitable access to immunizations," Hotez replied to Bet-David before making a comparison to the Russian president. "No aspiration to become some American version of a shirtless Putin on a horse. Someone should remind Bobby to wear sunscreen..."
Hotez's reference to a shirtless Putin is likely a nod to the infamous picture of the Russian leader riding a horse while topless whilst on vacation in town of Kyzyl in Southern Siberia in August 2009.
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Hotez's tweet went viral, being viewed 7.3 million times, but he'd restricted the comments. Thousands of people did retweet his post, allowing them to voice their opinions.
Twitter user @jared__fuller didn't hold back in his assessment of Hotez. "I'm not anti-vax but Peter Hotez is a weasel. He refuses to debate RFK, yet continues to poke and prod him on Twitter, only retweets people who agree with him, hides in his Big Pharma-funded media bubble, and disables comments. He is instigating fights that he won't fight in," he wrote.
Another academic, health professor Roberta Lavin of the University of New Mexico, didn't agree with Hotez's stance either. "I like the work of @PeterHotez, but sometimes his lack of insight into the average person is shocking. Expecting logic from people that think body physique equates to intelligence is ridiculous," Lavin said.
Others retweeted Hotez's viral tweet but commented and criticized him for turning off his replies, ensuring no one could disagree or debate him. One user suggested Hotez was in turn making his own "echo chamber" for his opinions.
"You're doing fine doc, they're just trying to make Idiocracy happen," Chinese DIY YouTuber Naomi Wu wrote, referencing the 2006 dystopian comedy where the the average intelligence of Americans has dramatically fallen. "Given that these folks consider erogenous hormone administration in supraphysiological doses to be a compelling argument, not debating them seems like it was a good call."
Newsweek has reached out to Hotez's representatives via email for further comment.
During RFK Jr.'s appearance on the JRE podcast earlier this month, he reiterated baseless and disproven claims that vaccines cause autism, which in turn irked Hotez.
In April, RFK Jr., who is the son of Robert Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, announced he intends to run in the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat, running against President Joe Biden.
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