‘You’re Slandering Me!’ RFK Jr. Clashes With Dem Rep in Heated Exchange on Past Comments

Sparks flew between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a number of House Democrats on Thursday, each making clear they were not happy about the 2024 candidate's presence for a hearing at the Capitol.

Kennedy Jr. appeared at a hearing by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to discuss government and Big Tech censorship.

In one heated exchange, the Democrat accused Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., of "slandering" him when questioning him on past controversial comments.

Wasserman Schultz began the hearing by calling for Kennedy Jr.'s invitation to be rescinded as the House bars testimony from anyone who "degrades or defames people."

While questioning Kennedy Jr., Wasserman Schultz brought up a quote from the longshot candidate in which he discussed both Covid pandemic restrictions and Nazi Germany.

"Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did," Wasserman Schultz quoted Kennedy Jr. as saying. The Democrat previously apologized for making the statement after even his wife Cheryl Hines distanced herself.

Asked by Wasserman Schultz if he believes it was "easy" for Jewish people to avoid being captured by Nazis, Kennedy Jr. said, "absolutely not."

"Do you think it was just as hard to wear a mask during COVID as it was to hide under floorboards or false walls so you weren’t murdered or dragged to a concentration camp?" Wasserman Schultz then asked.

"Excuse me?" Kennedy Jr. replied.

"That's a question, yes or no?" Wasserman Schultz said.

"I didn't hear your question," he said.

Wasserman Schultz repeated the same question and Kennedy Jr. answered, "Of course not. That is ridiculous."

"That's a comparison that you made," Wasserman Schultz said.

"I did not make that comparison," Kennedy Jr. said.

Wasserman Schultz also asked Kennedy Jr. about claims he made about Covid being "ethnically targeted" against white and Black people, while Jews and Chinese people are the "most immune."

The statements by Kennedy Jr. were widely condemned as anti-semitic and baseless ahead of the hearing.

"My. Kennedy, your bizarre, unproven claim echoes that same historic slander of labeling Jews and Chinese people as a race and that Jews and in this case Chinese people somehow managed to avoid a deadly illness that targets other groups for death. You do see that, yes or no?" Wasserman Schultz asked.

Kennedy Jr. accused Wasserman Schultz of "misstating" what he said and after some back and forth, Wasserman Schultz reclaimed her time to the frustration of the witness.

"Please ask the witness to stop talking," Wasserman Schultz asked of GOP chair Jim Jordan, Ohio.

"You asked me a question. Allow me to answer my question," Kennedy Jr. said as Wasserman Schultz tried to move on.

The Democrat eventually told the lawmaker, "You are slandering me incorrectly! What you're saying is dishonest!" before she moved on.

Wasserman Schultz took her accusations of anti-semitism further when accusing Kennedy Jr. of flaming the bias her own children face.

"My own children have been the targets of brutal antisemitism on social media. You fan those flames and jeopardize their safety," she said.

Kennedy Jr. denied accusations of racism and anti-semitism and declared is not "anti-vaxx" in his opening remarks. He's faced backlash from medical officials and agencies for linking numerous medical side effects to vaccines.

Kennedy Jr. said he is the victim of "targeted propaganda."

De. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, accused House Republicans at the hearing of endorsing Kennedy Jr.'s "hateful rhetoric" while Republicans continually accused Democrats of trying to censor the witness by voting to rescind his invitation to testify.