Donald Trump supporters have praised him for targeting the ‘Covid Cartel’ by appointing leading lockdown critic Jay Bhattacharya.
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Trump’s nomination of Bhattacharya completes his top public health team ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
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This nomination completes Trump’s top public health team ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
The president-elect announced Bhattacharya’s new position alongside Robert Kennedy Jr., who will head the U.S. health department.
In a statement, Trump said the two would work together to “restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease”.
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Bhattacharya will be next director of the National Institutes of Health and work alongside Robert Kennedy Jr.
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Bhattacharya expressed his commitment to reformation, writing on X: “We will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again!”
He is best known for challenging the public health response to Covid, co-authoring the 2020 Great Barrington Declaration. The letter opposed lockdowns and advocated for protecting vulnerable groups, like the elderly, instead.
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On X, Trump supporters have hailed the president-elect for his pick, with one sharing a video of Bhattacharya accusing leaders of manipulating public health policy under the guise of science.
The user added: “Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on the Covid Cartel—a small group of criminals at the top dictating policy and foisting a fake Scientism consensus.”
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Others have agreed, with another replying: “He’s right. It will be a long time to determine just how bad it really is. We can already see the damage it has had. I can’t imagine what will be the end.”
Someone else wrote: “These are the very same people who have bought scientists in academia and used them to generate consensus as and when required.
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Anti-vaxxers have been praising Trump’s latest pick, as Bhattacharya was a key figure behind the controversial Great Barrington Declaration.
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“Examples being lockdowns, masks, asymptomatic transmission and mandating experimental gene therapy shots. Science cannot be decided by a consensus.”
Another tweeted: “So right. Pleased to see you talking out about the corruption.”
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The economist remains a vocal critic of Anthony Fauci‘s handling of the pandemic and was dismissed by former NIH director Francis Collins as a “fringe expert” following the release of the Great Barrington Declaration.
Bhattacharya is not alone in his criticism; Trump has also nominated Marty Makary, who opposed vaccine mandates, to head the FDA, and Dave Weldon, a vaccine skeptic, to run the CDC.
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Bhattacharya has claimed he will reform American scientific institutions so that they are ‘worthy of trust again’.
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Trump’s Department of Health nominees, including Bhattacharya, Makary, and Weldon, must be confirmed by the Senate.
Additionally, Trump has nominated TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, while Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, nominated as surgeon general, has sparked controversy due to her past support for abortion rights and school masking.
