RFK Jr. Posts Fishing Journey Pics On-line Amidst Fallout From CDC Taking pictures

A horrific capturing occurred exterior the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention’s headquarters in Atlanta on Friday. The capturing killed one police officer and left the constructing’s employees locked down and terrified. The shooter, who unsuccessfully tried to breach the constructing, has been recognized as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White. He was found dead at the scene.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s head of the Division of Well being and Human Companies, has not been significantly good at navigating his high-profile place since taking workplace. His controversial beliefs and his uncommon insurance policies have made the bureaucrat a constant goal for criticism, and the occasions of this weekend proved to be yet one more alternative for Kennedy-related controversy to erupt.

Kennedy posted a public assertion concerning the capturing over the weekend. Earlier than he did that, nevertheless, Kennedy notably posted some photos from a fishing journey to his private X account. “Fishing the Kenae with Ninilchik Chief Ivan Encelewski Chairman of the Cook dinner Inlet Tribal Council and Council President Gloria Oneil,” Kennedy posted on Saturday morning. Some half-hour later, Kennedy posted a press release to his official account expressing sympathy for the traumatized CDC employees: “We’re deeply saddened by the tragic capturing at CDC’s Atlanta campus that took the lifetime of officer David Rose,” Kennedy wrote. “We stand together with his spouse and three youngsters and all the CDC household.”

Fishing the Kenae with Ninilchik Chief Ivan Encelewski Chairman of the Cook dinner Inlet Tribal Council and Council President Gloria Oneil
The 1948 photograph
is Ivans grandpa Chief Larry Oskolkoff Sr. with a skiff load of King salmon from a Cook dinner Inlet fish entice. The Kenae Kings are additionally in… pic.twitter.com/aVtkZTkI36

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 9, 2025

It’s price noting that public figures aren’t all the time personally liable for the posts on their social media accounts. It’s unclear who’s operating Kennedy’s socials however, whoever they’re, they dropped the ball right here. Gizmodo reached out to the HHS for remark. An HHS press launch printed Monday afternoon mentioned that Kennedy had visited the CDC campus the place the assault occurred and later “met privately with the widow of Officer David Rose, who courageously gave his life within the line of responsibility.” The assertion says that Kennedy “provided his deepest condolences and reaffirmed the company’s dedication to honoring Officer Rose’s bravery, sacrifice, and repair to the nation.” Kennedy additionally reached out to staff on Saturday, not lengthy after the capturing occurred.

Kennedy’s questionable social media selections aren’t the one factor he has been criticized for within the wake of the capturing, nevertheless. White is alleged to have been preoccupied with the covid-19 vaccine which, in response to MSNBC, he “blamed for his well being issues,” an assertion that was beforehand corroborated by CNN’s sources. Kennedy has notably spread skepticism about vaccines and fanned the flames of conspiracy idea across the covid pandemic. A number of medical organizations recently sued Kennedy over modifications he made to the federal government’s vaccination suggestions. In the case of the current capturing, NPR has reported that some laid-off CDC workers have even mentioned that “Kennedy shares accountability for the violence and may resign.”

Kennedy’s management on the HHS has been topic to ongoing criticism. The MAHA zealot has pursued varied fringe agendas (like removing synthetic dyes from cereal and different processed meals and reintroducing tallow into french fries) whereas transferring to chop funding, staffing, and assets to arguably rather more vital initiatives—together with mRNA vaccine development, cancer research, and different vital health programs. Earlier this yr, the HHS carried out layoffs on the CDC that reportedly impacted hundreds of staff, though a few of these staff have since been invited again to the company.