The decision by President-elect Donald Trump to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the top position at the Department of Health and Human Services in November 2024, has resurfaced some controversial statements made by the nominee. Kennedy, accused by some of suggesting COVID-19 was intentionally made to avoid affecting Jewish and Chinese people, has been the center of increased scrutiny. This assertion had been first circulated widely around July 2023, again triggering a wave of controversy.
Social media platforms saw divided opinions regarding Kennedy’s supposed statement. Many users put forward the view that RFK Jr. had stated COVID-19 was ‘racially selective’ to exempt Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. On the other hand, some insisted that this was a misinterpretation of Kennedy’s words. A user on a platform, for instance, argued that Kennedy was misquoted by the New York Times, backing his comments with a scientific study.
At an event in July 2023, Kennedy made some observations that served as the root of these disputed claims. RFK Jr. proposed an idea that COVID-19 exhibited racial disparities in its attack. ‘There is a likelihood that COVID-19 is racially selective. It targets certain races more heavily’, Kennedy stated, further pointing out that ‘COVID-19 primarily attacks Caucasians and Black people, while Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people seem to possess more immune resilience’.
Nevertheless, Kennedy remained cautious with his statements surrounding the intent behind the alleged racial targeting by COVID-19. Although he acknowledged some studies demonstrating racial and ethnic disparities in the disease’s effects, he did not assert any deliberate targeting. Kennedy did, however, indicate that countries including China are investing heavily in developing ethnic bioweapons.
In line with these, RFK Jr. also raised politically sensitive allegations that the United States and China were heavily invested in researching racial bioweapons. He claimed, without providing substantial proof, that there are labs in Ukraine using Russian and Chinese DNA to research weaponizing diseases against particular races. This claim ignited controversy due its lack of concrete evidence and its association with long-standing conspiracy theories surrounding alleged U.S. biolabs in Ukraine.
There’s still much uncertainty as to whether Kennedy made explicit mention of the term ‘spare’ when referring to Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. However, his statements did hint at the possibility that these groups might have genetic factors that lessened their vulnerability to COVID-19. Notably, his comments drew from scientific research that explored genetic variations among populations, particularly in the expression of ACE2 receptors.
Scientific research has indeed investigated differences in ACE2 receptors, which are targeted by the virus, among different populations. However, no definitive evidence is available to validate the assumption that COVID-19 was deliberately designed to target certain races and spare others. Kennedy himself seemed unsure about the notion of deliberate targeting, openly admitting, ‘We don’t know if it was deliberately targeted’.
Kennedy’s alleged remarks were denounced by both Jewish and governmental organizations. The American Jewish Committee expressed its concern to a media outlet that Kennedy’s supposed suggestion that COVID-19 was genetically altered to sidestep Jewish and Chinese individuals is ‘dangerously misleading and greatly offensive’. Similarly, the Anti-Defamation League, an NGO formed to fight antisemitism, voiced strong condemnations towards Kennedy’s words, as did his own sister and officials from the White House.
In response to the increasing scrutiny and backlash, Kennedy issued a clarification on July 15, 2023, shortly after the accusations surfaced. He vehemently denied having ever suggested the idea that ‘COVID-19 spared Jews’. He further highlighted a 2020 research study named: ‘New Insights into Genetic Susceptibility of COVID-19: an ACE2 and TMPRSS2 Polymorphism Analysis’.
Although it’s true that the study touched upon race-specific vulnerability to COVID-19, it did not conclude that Chinese people were less affected by the virus. Instead, it found that certain virus’s receptors were notably absent in Amish and Ashkenazi Jewish populations. It also speculated that specific genetic mutations might potentially amplify the severity of the disease.
In a discussion with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Kennedy took additional steps to clear up the controversy. He emphasized his steadfast opposition to antisemitism and reaffirmed his commitment to advocating for Jewish causes, categorically categorizing these accusations as ‘blatantly fabricated’.
As the controversy swelled, Kennedy took the opportunity to vigorously denounce the contentious claims. He termed the allegation as ‘loathsome and ludicrous’ in an official press statement. Kennedy pointedly accused Jon Levine, a reporter for the Post, of being the one perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes by attributing to him words (‘spare the Jews’) he had never used.
Considering the ambiguity in Kennedy’s comments, we chose not to attribute a definitive interpretation to the controversial claim. Although Kennedy did not explicitly use the term ‘spare’, his comments around ‘bioweapons’ targeting people racially do leave room for interpretations that he could have been implying that COVID-19 might have been created to preferentially affect some populations over others.