White House Rebukes CBS' Margaret Brennan Over CDC Shooting Interview as NIH Chief Cites 2025 COVID Policies
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 10
White House Rebukes CBS' Margaret Brennan Over CDC Shooting Interview as NIH Chief Cites 2025 COVID Policies
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 10
Summary
Kush Desai, the White House spokesman, accused mainstream media of backing lockdowns and censorship after CBS host Margaret Brennan pressed NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya on vaccine misinformation tied to the 2025 CDC shooting.
Bhattacharya said public-health distrust stemmed from Biden-era COVID policies — including school closures, mask rules and vaccine mandates — rather than from Trump officials or HHS Secretary RFK Jr.
Brennan repeatedly argued she was focused on the Georgia attack, in which a gunman fired about 200 rounds into six CDC buildings and killed DeKalb County officer David Rose.
The exchange widened into a broader fight over who eroded trust in public health, with Bhattacharya saying government-backed misinformation and censorship during the pandemic did lasting damage.