Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back on Sunday after facing backlash for remarks he made at a press event last week claiming COVID was “ethnically targeted” not to have as bad of an impact on Jewish and Chinese populations as it did on white and black people.
The New York Post’s Jon Levine reported that Kennedy made the remark at Tony’s Di Napoli, an Italian restaurant in New York City.
“COVID-19, there is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,” Kennedy claimed. “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
“We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact.”
Kennedy said that communist China was collecting DNA from nations around the world so they could “target people by race.”
Kennedy, who has long been accused of spouting conspiracy theories, was slammed online over his comments.
The New York Post highlighted the response of Dr. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine and infectious disease at the University of California, and fierce critic of school closures during the pandemic, to Kennedy’s remarks.
“No, no, no, no, no,” she said. “I don’t see any evidence that there was any design or bioterrorism that anyone tried to design something to knock off certain groups.”
Kennedy insisted the event was supposed to be “OFF-THE-RECORD,” yet Levine said that organizer Doug Dechert told the publication that the event was on the record. Another attendee also confirmed the comments were on the record.
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Kennedy attacked Levine on Twitter for writing the story and for asking him to respond to critics “who might think saying coronavirus was a bioweapon made to kill white and black but spare Jews — might be antisemitic.”
“Of course, saying that would be anti-Semitic. But I didn’t say that. Levine is fabricating an opinion, attributing it to me, and trolling for scandal,” Kennedy said.
Numerous major public figures across the political spectrum slammed Kennedy for his remarks and said that they believed the comments were either deranged or anti-Semitic.
Of course, saying that would be anti-Semitic. But I didn’t say that. Levine is fabricating an opinion, attributing it to me, and trolling for scandal.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 16, 2023
Kennedy said that the report devalued the term “anti-Semitism” at a time when “REAL anti-Semitism is rampant.”
“I demand the editors of the @nypost retract, and that @LevineJonathan apologize for this false, underhanded, and inflammatory article,” he added.