Republicans are allowing Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be a witness for a House Select Subcommittee hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Thursday, despite a plea from Democrats to disinvite him.
The latest calls from the left come after he discussed one argument put forth about COVID-19, that it is “ethnically targeted” and “attacks certain races disproportionately.”
Responding to the New York Post’s report about the comments, made at an off-the-record press event, and the backlash that has since ensued, Kennedy said on Twitter the “story is mistaken.”
"The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews," Kennedy wrote, linking to the study referenced. "In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered."
.@LevineJonathan exploited this OFF-THE-RECORD conversation to smear me by association with an outlandish conspiracy theory.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 15, 2023
This cynical maneuver is consistent with the mainstream media playbook to discredit me as a crank — and by association, to discredit revelations of genuine corruption and collusion.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 15, 2023
While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy disagrees "with everything he said" in the Post story, he indicated Kennedy wouldn't be disinvited.
“The hearing that we have this week is about censorship,” McCarthy added. “I don’t think censoring somebody is actually the answer here.”
WATCH: Speaker McCarthy (R-Calif.) defends inviting RFK Jr. to testify after a NY Post video of Kennedy's alleged Covid remarks.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) July 17, 2023
"I disagree with everything he said. The hearing we have this week is about censorship. I don't think censoring someone is actually the answer here." pic.twitter.com/Fk60qf3g5x
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan echoed that sentiment.
“Yeah, I totally disagree with what he said, but he’s a Democrat. I disagree with other things he said too. But we’re having him because of censorship,” Jordan told Politico.