The Dictatorship
How the right-wing backlash to the Covid pandemic led to the FDA’s anti-vax turn
ByWalker Bragman
An internal memo from the Food and Drug Administration last month dubiously claimed that Covid-19 vaccines were responsible for at least 10 child deaths, based on unverified reports from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System — the federal vaccine injury database. The agency provided no further evidence, and the memo was sharply rebuked by 12 former FDA commissioners.
It is the latest evidence that the FDA is planning to curtail access to vaccines that have saved millions of American lives using a technology that has incredible potential against some of the worst diseases known to humanity.
Across HHS, science is under siege.
The memo’s author, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Dr. Vinay Prasad, was a YouTuber known for sowing doubt in Covid mitigation measures and vaccines. The VAERS reports were compiled by Dr. Tracy Beth Hoega physical medicine expert and fellow public health contrarian who is now the Trump administration’s fourth director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The FDA is headed by Dr. Marty Makary, a key ally of the anti-vaccine secretary of the Department of Human and Health Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The agency has been in disarray on Makary’s watch, with most senior staff being replaced by fringe figures. Today, the FDA is no longer moored to evidence-based reality — and it is not alone.
Across HHS, science is under siege. The National Institutes of Health, led by Jay Bhattacharya, an economist who began the pandemic advocating against single-payer health care and for herd immunity through mass Covid infectionand eventually ended up on the conspiratorial fringeshas been gutting research and slashing its workforce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine policy is now guided by a panel of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists and contrarians handpicked by Kennedy. Last week, the panel arbitrarily killed a decades-old recommendation that all newborns get vaccinated against hepatitis B, an incurable disease with deadly consequences when contracted in the first few months of life.
None of what we are seeing is unexpected. It is instead the endgame of a right-wing war on public health that began with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The reasons for the war are entirely political.
The modern conservative movement has always had a strained relationship with science, especially on issues like climate change and tobacco uselargely due to its having been organized and bankrolled by major profit-driven business interests. But until Covid, vaccines were generally areas of bipartisan agreement.
The pandemic ground the U.S. economy to a screeching halt, rankling the business funders of the conservative movement and, more importantly, imperiling GOP electoral prospects in a census year, when control of congressional and statehouse redistricting would be up for grabs.
As noted Tea Party organizer Richard Viguerie told The Washington Post in April 2020, “the sooner we get the economy going and back up, the better it’s going to be for conservatives and Republicans in this election year.” Covid presented a long-term threat to the conservative political project. Like all major upheavals, it created a need — and a demand — for the kind of active federal leadership that conservatives had been trying to kill since the New Deal.
It did not help the conservative cause that the GOP, in a scramble to do something, had sent the largest, albeit temporary, expansion of the social safety net in a generation to Trump’s desk with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act. These helped slash poverty to historic lows with generous aid programs.
The tactic of deploying fringe scientists and doctors was an old one used by Big Tobacco and the fossil fuel industry,
The right-wing calls to reopen began immediately after states started shutting down in March 2020 — and included Trump. These, however, met pushback from medical experts and public health officials. By April, the anti-lockdown protests had begun, promoted by groups like Tea Party Patriots. The demonstrations were successful in fueling a media narrative of “pandemic fatigue,” but they did little to move the needle of public opinion. So right-wing organizers quickly adjusted.
On a private call in May 2020 — recorded audio of which was leaked to the Center for Media and Democracy and fed to The Associated Press — members of a influential and secretive Christian-right group called the Council for National Policy (CNP), along with a senior staffer of Trump’s reelection campaign, discussed a plan to give the reopening prescription the veneer of medical legitimacy.
“One survey that I heard about last week was two-thirds of the American people are not comfortable going back out, even if the country were opened wide up for business as usual,” said CNP member and conservative activist Nancy Schulze. “Doctors are seen by the American people … They have a 92% trust rate with the American people, according to polling.” Schulze told her colleagues that a coalition of doctors had “been preparing and coming together for the war ahead in the campaign on health care” and “could be activated … for reopening.”
That doctors group is now widely understood to have been America’s Frontline Doctors, headed up by Jan. 6 rioter Dr. Simone Gold, which made its debut in July 2020. (Gold was later pardoned by Trump, along with almost all of the other would-be insurrectionists.) AFLDS, which included future Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapowere major proponents of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug Trump seized on as a quick fix to the pandemic, despite evidence that it was not effective against Covid.
The tactic of deploying fringe scientists and doctors was an old one used by Big Tobacco and the fossil fuel industry, and soon other contrarian doctors were propelled to right-wing stardom. Makary, Bhattacharya, Prasad and Høeg all began their rise to power as contrarian medical voices urging a return to normalcy. They were amplified by right-wing politicians; so-called politically heterodox media outlets that are clearly right-leaning (like The Free Press); dark money groups; and individuals like billionaire Trump campaign financier Elon Musk.
The new strategy laid the foundations for the mainstreaming of anti-vaccine narratives on the right. Who needed vaccines when you had hydroxychloroquine, and later the similarly ineffective ivermectin? But it was the right’s embrace of “natural immunity” as the path to herd immunity that really set the course. A major audience for these appeals were people against vaccines.
It was not long before contrarian doctors like Makary and Bhattacharya — and public health-focused right-wing groups like the Brownstone Institute, founded in 2021 — were pushing vaccine skepticism and forging alliances with anti-vaccine advocates like Kennedy. It gained them access to spaces previously considered liberal enclaves: Think crunchy granola.
The melding of the conservative and anti-vaccine movements would be formalized finally under the mantle “Make America Healthy Again,” and would help propel Donald Trump to victory in 2024.
Today, we are all paying the cost. The FDA is now planning to find adult deaths supposedly caused by the Covid vaccines. It is safe to say that nothing the agency produces on the matter will be reliable, given past statements from Makary, Prasad and Høeg, who gave away the game long ago. If the FDA does take additional steps to put mRNA vaccines out of reach for the American public, no vaccine will be safe — and that is probably the goal.
Walker Bragman
Walker Bragman is a New York-based investigative journalist and founder of the not-for-profit Accountability Journalism Institute.
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, as two retiring Republicans on the panel dug in over President Donald Trump’s personal “anti-weaponization” deal with the government he runs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision to delay the committee vote that had been set for Thursday marks a setback for one of Trump’s highest-profile Cabinet nominees, at the hands of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a pair of Republicans set to leave the chamber next year.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” the committee spokesperson said.
Blanche’s nomination to permanently head the Department of Justice needs the support of either Cornyn or Tillis to make it out of the committee to a vote by the full Senate, assuming all Democrats remain opposed.
“Why don’t you call over the Department of Justice and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon amid the hardening standoff over his demand that Blanche and the DOJ put in writing a commitment never to pursue the president’s prized “anti-weaponization” fund, and to clarify the terms of Trump’s personal deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Tillis told MS NOW that the conversations were complicated by the need for the Justice Department to get “several parties” to agree on the language of the statement Cornyn and Tillis are seeking.
“What I’ve advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we’re not prepared to vote yes yet,” he added.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in response to the decision to postpone the committee vote.
Cornyn was set to meet with Blanche on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was called off after Blanche failed to meet the senator’s demand for written proposals to modify the controversial settlement agreement he brokered between Trump and the IRS. The Republican senator is set to leave Congress when his term ends in January after a bruising May primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump’s chosen candidate.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard (Blanche) is going through quite nicely.”
Cornyn made clear to Blanche during his confirmation hearing that he will not get his support until he agrees to reopen and modify the settlement. Due to the committee’s narrow Republican majority, one GOP “no” vote is enough to sink Blanche’s nomination.
The senator has asked Blanche to provide proof that the proposed nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund established as part of the deal between Trump and the IRS is formally dead, and he has also demanded Blanche narrow the tax audit immunity provisions the settlement afforded to Trump and his family.
Blanche has publicly stated that his department has dropped the fund, but he and the DOJ have dodged requests from Cornyn and a federal judge to put that in writing.
After announcing his meeting with Blanche would not take place Wednesday morning, Cornyn told reporters that changes from Blanche “in a modified release form” would be acceptable, but that “for some reason … they simply refuse to do it,” referring to the DOJ.
Shortly after the meeting was called off, a Justice Department official told MS NOW that the department “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office.”
Cornyn said that proposal was “not responsive” to his demands because it did not address the tax audit immunity provisions in the settlement, one of his key demands.
In May, Blanche signed an addendum as part of the deal that granted Trump, his family and his businesses immunity from pending IRS tax audits. That agreement, which has been decried by former IRS officials and legal experts as unlawful self-dealing, is being contested in federal court.
Cornyn noted that Blanche testified under oath that he could meet the request during his confirmation hearing.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said when asked why he thinks the DOJ could be slow-walking his request.
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived this week for his tour of Washington, he may have had a mission in mind.
Netanyahu needed to overcome his newly diminished stature and waning influence over his once close friend President Donald Trump as both leaders grapple with the unpopularity of a war they started together and is escaping their control.
His meeting at the White House with Trump on Tuesday, which was closed to the press, was the first face-to-face encounter between the two allies since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump gave him a muted welcome and afterwards simply described the meeting as “very good.” “Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Rather than an intimate one-on-one setting, the Oval Office was full of top U.S. officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
But Netanyahu continued the full court press on the Trump administration.
Over the course of two days, in addition to seeing Trump and attending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the Capitol, Netanyahu also met separately with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio, White House and Israeli officials confirmed to MS NOW.
The Israeli prime minister’s slate of meetings with key U.S. national security officials comes at a pivotal moment in the Iran conflict as tensions escalate in the region and Americans increasingly sour on the war. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows 60% of American voters opposing U.S. military action against Iran and 74% against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Not only does Trump face pressure as Republicans face an uphill battle to retain congressional control in this fall’s midterms, Netanyahu’s fate as prime minister is at stake in Israel’s upcoming September elections – and he can’t afford to lose Trump’s favor.
The talks largely focused on what to do next as Iran continues to menace shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against American bases in the region and launch attacks on Gulf allies.
According to a senior Israeli official who was granted anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not come to a final decision after discussing three paths forward: get a “good deal” focused on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched material, have no deal and instead continue the blockade and economic pressure, or take escalated military action.
But Netanyahu did not tell Trump what he should do – nor did he express a preference.
The senior Israeli official noted Netanyahu has not ruled out diplomacy – as long as it is coupled with “very strong pressures,” calling the push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program “a contest of will and a contest of force.”
“There are ways of squeezing them and squeezing them and squeezing them and negotiating at the same time,” the official said.
Netanyahu did not present President Trump with new intelligence regarding the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain, per the senior Israeli official, noting the U.S. and Israel already are constantly sharing intelligence – and know where Iran’s highly enriched material is. “We don’t think it’s moved, and I think we have a pretty good grasp on that,” the official said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Trump and Netanyahu discussed ways Israel and the U.S. can work together to stop Iran’s nuclear program and get the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime trade, the senior Israeli official said.
The two leaders also discussed a third goal: to continue to undermine the Iranian regime and “possibly create future conditions for a change in that area.” U.S. officials have backed away from pursuing paths that would overthrow the current leadership, but Netanyahu still believes that could happen.
“The chasm that has been created between the people and the regime is not about to be closed,” the senior Israeli official said of Netanyahu’s thinking.
Netanyahu advised Trump in February that Israeli intelligence indicated launching strikes against Iran would lead to the toppling of the Islamic Republic’s regime – and five months later, the slain ayatollah’s son retains power with a close circle of hardliners, calling into question the accuracy of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
But the senior Israeli official said at the time, Netanyahu did not promise the Iranian people would take fate into their own hands following a coordinated attack. Rather, he chose his words carefully and said that an attack could create conditions to “advance the probability or the possibility that that would happen.”
The conditions needed for the Iranian regime to fall, “did not materialize,” the official told MS NOW, adding, “not for lack of insight, but for either operational failure or decisions that were made.”
Despite Netanyahu insisting Israel and the U.S. are on the same page, differences still remain: the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and the Saudi nuclear arrangement did not come up during Wednesday’s White House meeting, according to a second Israeli official granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to spread, with an Iranian drone attacking a U.S. gas storage tanker off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday.
Trump indicated he would not let Iran’s latest action slide, telling reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. would retaliate against Iran even as he leaves room for diplomatic talks to resume.
“It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”
As for what it would take for Israel to join the U.S. strikes, the senior Israeli official said that if Israel is attacked by Iran, “We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly. And I think Iran would make a great mistake.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
International rage over FIFA’s close ties to President Donald Trump has reached a fever pitch after soccer’s governing body announced a plan to sell a significant stake to an investor group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
The president and his family have all but turned the White House into their personal piggy bank. And FIFA — which has its own sordid history of corruption — seems to have made itself a party to Trump’s self-enrichment under Gianni Infantino’s leadership, such as by paying for space inside Trump Tower in New York. (The organization has defended the office rental as a World Cup outpost.)
Soccer is seen by many as a unifying game. But Trump’s incorporation of FIFA into his political dynasty is threatening that idea.
FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
A press release from FIFA confirmed the plans and said Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investment group that would control FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA did not clarify why Thrive Eternal was selected, and Kushner was already dabbling in sports.
But Trump basically has already given son-in-law Jared Kushner carte blanche to dictate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East while simultaneously hatching business plans in the region. (Jared Kushner has denied any conflicts of interest.)
Joshua Kushner reportedly has been a major donor to Democrats. But, predictably, the idea of another Kushner becoming financially entwined with the World Cup — the world’s most popular sporting event — and basically being dropped into a position of global significance isn’t going over well. Several other soccer governing bodies have expressed concerns, including Europe’s UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement about The Athletic’s report, adding: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also rebuked the plan, writing on X: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!
Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a… https://t.co/knSZibuMea
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) July 28, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has already launched an investigation into the FIFA leader’s relationship with the Trump administration, while dozens of European lawmakers — citing concerns about “potential breaches of political neutrality” — have called for the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. This new proposal seems unlikely to assuage those concerns.
But what it does seem likely to do is fuel global anger toward the U.S. — the kind that has been growing since Trump retook office.
And when you consider that, it’s truly remarkable how the same MAGA movement whose members whined for years about politics mixing with sports is now in lockstep with a president who seems dead-set on casting his shadow over every sports event he can.
This post on X basically sums up the foul stench around FIFA’s latest proposal.
Sepp Blatter was Infantino’s predecessor as FIFA president and oversaw the organization amid some of its many scandals. When heof all people, is warning about how Trump and Infantino’s relationship is “deeply damaging” soccer, it’s a sign of how far FIFA has descended into the gutter.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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