On the July 9 edition of Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight, host Rob Schmitt said vaccines go “against nature” and some diseases are “supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people.” Schmitt was speaking to guest Dr. Peter McCullough about the COVID-19 vaccines, and his comment drew widespread condemnation.
Newsmax’s campaign to undermine COVID-19 vaccination
Written by Jason Campbell
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From the July 9, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight
ROB SCHMITT (HOST): When it comes to vaccines, and I really do want to make this clear, I mean, I'm not an anti-vaxxer. I'm not a pro-vaxxer. I'm somebody that's looking at this thing and trying to figure it out. I've got people in my family, very close to me, who I thought should get vaccinated because when you weigh the risks. But when it comes to vaccines in general, are you of the consensus that it could potentially take a long time to really know what a vaccination does to people in some cases?
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SCHMITT: You know, one thing I've always thought, and maybe you can guide me on this because, obviously, I'm not a doctor. But I've always thought about vaccines, and I always think about just nature, and the way everything works. And I feel like a vaccination in a weird way is just generally kind of going against nature. Like, I mean, if there is some disease out there -- maybe there's just an ebb and flow to life where something's supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that's just kind of the way evolution goes. Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that. Do you follow what I'm saying? Does that make sense to somebody in medicine?
DR. PETER MCCULLOUGH (GUEST): Well, there are some reports that support what you're saying. There's one by Nissan and colleagues from Boston and the Mayo Clinic that shows among vaccinated populations the diversity of different strains is narrowing. So it's going to be fewer numbers of strains. Right now in the United States, we're about 40% UK variant or the Alpha variant, and we're about 30% now Delta, which is the Indian variant. They get progressively weaker, but the diversity is changing with vaccination. And I think, probably, the best way to think about it is vaccines really ought to be targeted to protect the highest-risk individuals. A young person like you, if you got COVID, it's very easily treatable. You get through it. Natural immunity, for sure, is superior.
SCHMITT: Yeah, you know, that's -- you make a good point there. Again, it's like if you've got this big risk, I think it might be worth whatever it is. But if you don't have a risk, I just, I can't comprehend why you would take something -- they start learning about the heart inflammation and stuff like that. I just don't understand why it's being pushed so hard on people that are very young. And now they're trying to give it to kids. You saw today, you know, the CDC saying that going back to school in the fall, it looks like if your kid's not vaccinated, they're going to have to wear a mask next year.
After Media Matters flagged this comment, Newsmax sent us a statement that read:
Newsmax as a network strongly supports President Biden’s efforts to widely distribute the COVID vaccine. It is important for the safety of all and especially those at high risk, such as the elderly. Medical professionals who have appeared on Newsmax have strongly encouraged Americans to get the vaccine. From time to time a guest or host may not be as supportive of these efforts, however they do not reflect the position of Newsmax.
But Schmitt’s comment was not an isolated occurrence; it was part of a broad Newsmax campaign to dissuade people from taking the COVID-19 vaccination. At least two hosts, including Schmitt, have publicly said on air that they have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine. And they’re not the only ones on the network casting doubt.
On July 12, Cortes and Pellegrino host Steve Cortes condemned potential vaccine mandates in the armed services. He went on to speculate that the vaccines were being used as a “filter to cull the military ranks of people who might resist the brass’s insistence that the military prioritize political correctness over martial lethality.”
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From the July 12, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Cortes and Pellegrino
STEVE CORTES (GUEST): Wow, outsourcing the tyranny. But in the case of the military, there is no command structure outside of government. And so government actually has to make this decision. According to the Army Times, the Pentagon internally informed Army commands to be ready to inject everyone who has chosen to forgo the treatment, starting September 1. So far, 70 percent of the Army is vaccinated and just over 60 percent of the Marines. So, that means hundreds of thousands of military members have chosen — they have chosen, used their freedom — not to get the vaccine. Now, what is the medical reason to compel it then? When the CCP virus is so minimally dangerous to them, and the long term effects of such a new treatment, they are still unknown. Now, how many of those troops will simply refuse and decide to leave our military? Polling of the private sector shows that a consequential minority of Americans — it's a minority, but a consequential minority of Americans — say they will never get the vaccine. So, are the woke leaders of the Pentagon using this, this device, as a filter to cull the military ranks of people who might resist the brass's insistence that the military prioritize political correctness over martial lethality? We don't know the answer yet, but a mandatory vaccine rule would suggest that there is, in fact, a broader agenda at work here.
On July 12, Wake Up America host Rob Finnerty warned of a “socialist Democratic gestapo that could be going door-to-door in white coats to vaccinate people.” (This comment came in response to a statement President Joe Biden made about trying to increase vaccination rates, which conservative media have been relentlessly fearmongering over.)
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From the July 12, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Wake Up America
ROB FINNERTY (HOST): We did learn a little more about the socialist Democratic gestapo that could be going door-to-door in white coats to vaccinate people. It sounds like they are serious. They'll -- you know, it's not just going to give people information about getting vaccines. But if this door-to-door thing does happen, they will come with shots in hand for anybody that's unvaccinated that wants to get vaccinated. What do you make of that?
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MARK HALPERIN (NEWSMAX ANALYST): I celebrate the liberty that you both speak of, but to talk about gestapos or -- having suggested people are going to have to be vaccinated at gunpoint, I think is misleading and I think is dangerous because people deserve individual liberty. People who don't want to get the vaccine, of course, don't have to get them. But there's no indication the government is trying to force people to do this. This going door-to-door is --
FINNERTY: Going door-to-door is -- that's a little different. We haven't seen something like that.
On July 12, a guest on National Report said the COVID-19 vaccination is just another way for Democrats to “control your kids from the cradle to the grave.”
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From the July 12, 2021, edition of Newsmax's National Report
JENNIFER KERNS (NEWSMAX CONTRIBUTOR): Well, look, Shaun. Remember when public health used to be about helping people and not punishing your political opponents? Gone are those days. Look, this is no surprise, though, if you look at Dr. Anthony Fauci's history at the NIH. You actually also look at Dr. Fauci's own wife, Dr. Christine Grady, who has been at the NIH since 1985 and served for seven years on Barack Obama's presidential advisory panel on bioethics, including the informed consent and how to recruit people for — guess what, Sean? — vaccine trials. These people are committed. They are committed liberals in the health care government space. They are committed to public vaccinations. We know that liberals want to control your kids from the cradle to the grave. Vaccines are just one more way to do that. Boy, this is really demented and really sick to hear this CNN contributor speak like this. There are other ways to prevent COVID — masking, social distancing, prophylactic medications, and oh, by the way, over the counter vitamin D. Not that I'm a physician. But I do know how to read, as do most Americans.
On July 10, Diamond and Silk said on their show that they had “concerns” and “questions” about the COVID-19 vaccination and warned of forced vaccination. Silk said, “I wonder will they be wearing brown shirts and arm bands,” alluding to the Nazis during the Third Reich. Diamond and Silk joined Newsmax after being ousted from Fox News in 2020 for pushing deranged COVD-19 conspiracy theories, including that 5G towers were increasing infection rates.
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From the July 10, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Diamond & Silk: Crystal Clear
DIAMOND (CO-HOST): You know, this seems like psychological manipulation —
SILK (CO-HOST): Yep.
DIAMOND: Being done to the American people.
SILK: That's right.
DIAMOND: Yeah. Because why is the Biden regime trying to force vaccines on the American people?
SILK: Why? Why?
DIAMOND: You know, see, this is what I don't understand, Silk. You don't get to come to my house —
SILK: That's right.
DIAMOND: And tell me to take something, but dismiss my concerns about the stuff you want me to pop in my body.
SILK: In my body. That's right.
DIAMOND: You see what I'm saying? Because I have questions about this vaccine.
SILK: That's right. Well, I wonder will they be wearing brown shirts and arm bands.
DIAMOND: I have no idea.
SILK: I mean, because this seems really familiar. It's my body, my choice.
DIAMOND: That's right.
SILK: So is the Biden regime now a dictatorship?
DIAMOND: I have no idea.
SILK: Because that's what they acting like.
DIAMOND: They surely are.
On July 9, Schmitt said not getting vaccinated is a reasonable choice for many Americans: “As far as vaccines go, there’s likely plenty to question and there’s plenty that science might not know.”
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From the July 9, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight
ROB SCHMITT (HOST): We've watched health experts who have made mistake after mistake in this country, experts who've been caught lying in this pandemic, tell us that these vaccines are definitely safe. They're working hard to pressure Americans to get vaccinated.
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SCHMITT: Earlier today, the European Union acknowledged the link between heart inflammation and mRNA COVID shots, saying the conditions myocarditis and pericarditis must be listed as side effects of the two mRNA vaccines. And while for many of us, many members even of my own family included, getting vaccinated is a better choice than risking COVID. That's fine. That's fair. For others, especially people who maybe caught COVID already and were a little bit sick, why would you risk heart inflammation to get vaccinated?
Back to the Olympics, U.S. swimmer Michael Andrew is choosing not to get vaccinated before heading to Tokyo, saying, “I didn't want to put anything in my body that I didn't know how I would potentially react to." Quote, “I didn't want to risk any days out because there are periods where, if you take the vaccine, you have to deal with some days off." That's his perspective. For millions of Americans, getting vaccinated could be the right choice and is the right choice. But the high and mighty left and the media ridiculing so many people for questioning vaccines is despicable. It's become so politicized, and many liberals will pump these vaccines into themselves and to their children simply to prove their loyalty to science. Cause that's the in thing to do right now. But the truth is, as far as vaccines go, there's likely plenty to question and there's plenty that science might not know.
On July 8, John Bachman Now host John Bachman called COVID-19 vaccinations an “experimental drug trial” and said that no one should be forced to comply.
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From the July 8, 2021, edition of Newsmax's John Bachman Now
JOHN BACHMAN (HOST): Jack, I mean, we've had this conversation on this very show, talking about your reluctance to get the vaccine. I mean, nobody should really be felt like they're being forced to comply with a, you know, drug, experimental drug trial right now, and that's still where we are. So for Dr. Fauci to take this kind of position — I mean, I know he's on MSNBC here. But, you know, who is his audience really, Jack?
JACK BREWER (GUEST): It's the people who want to push this narrative, this liberal narrative, that is going to scare everyone to lock down their businesses and to stay afraid. You know, my biggest problem has always been there is no individual analysis done. You're talking about Dr. Fauci, who should be talking about people who are obese and the rate in which those people are affected. Or those that have preexisting conditions.
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And it's just so sad that Dr. Fauci's not taking his time to educate the American people on what the real options are for, especially, for folks that don't have any conditions. I talk to athletes all the time, and now we have college athletes, we have professional athletes that are being threatened to have to put something in their body that they don't know, really, what it is, that hadn't been fully tested. And really threatening the rest of their careers because they don't want to get sick. And so, you can't keep pushing a vaccine on people that are already healthy, that are already immune. It's really immoral.
On July 8, John Bacham Now guest Dave Rubin said a “healthy skepticism” of the COVID-19 vaccines is reasonable and it is everyone’s “duty” to question their efficacy.
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From the July 8, 2021, edition of Newsmax's John Bachman Now
DAVE RUBIN (CONSERVATIVE PODCAST HOST): Well, John, let me say this. I actually don't think that's overconfidence by him or somehow, like, a new, robust confidence — that shows complete desperation. What he's realizing is that despite everything that they've done, a certain amount of people have some healthy skepticism about this whole thing, which, you know, three years ago, if you had some skepticism about the government, that would be a thing that the left would care about, right? Like, you shouldn't trust these crazy, warmongering capitalists or something like that. But now we're get over it. I mean, his demeanor, as if you should never question anything that the government tells you. You have every right to do that. You have a duty do that. I mean, it's actually — I say this to you all the time, John — but this is the thing that separates us from the animals. We have the ability to think and use logic and reason. Now, I'm not saying don't get vaccinated if you want to get vaccinated, but for him to basically be like, get over it, you know, you have to just do it because we say it — and also there's a further point in that clip where his implication is that you're still going to be killing people if you don't get vaccinated — this disease, this virus, which we know 97 basically to 99.5% recovery rate for people who aren't vaccinated. They tried to scare the hell out of everybody, you know, two weeks ago with Delta variant. That didn't quite do it. Now they're working on a new one. It's like, you know what? A healthy skepticism of the government or of any system of power — I thought that was something that a free person would want to believe in. But he's using guilt, basically — you're going to kill grandma, as if it didn't happen enough in the last year and a half.
On July 7, Wake Up America guest Hogan Gidley said, “I completely understand how there are a large number of Americans” who don’t trust the vaccine.
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From the July 7, 2021, edition of Newsmax's Wake Up America
HOGAN GIDLEY (FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY): Look, this is a government overreach, as I think everyone clearly understands. Joe Biden wants people to get the vaccine. But as you guys talked about at the beginning of the show, it's still unclear how many people have enough antibodies who don't need the vaccine. And I'd like to just point this out — Dr. Fauci, someone on President Biden's team who's now on TikTok telling people to get the vaccine too. I understand; I have a lot of friends who have gotten the vaccine. I have a lot of friends who refused to get the vaccine. The same group of people who lied to us about whether or not we should wear masks, who lied to us about whether or not they were wearing masks just for show. Dr. Fauci, who lied about gain of function research, who lied about the Wuhan lab leak theory — all those same experts are now telling you, you have to get the vaccine. I completely understand how there are a large number of Americans who just say wait a minute, everyone who just lied to me for the last year and a half, spare me. I'm going to just wait and see, kind of, some more of the long-term effects of this vaccine, as we as we have begun to take in some of the stories of people with the adverse reactions to the vaccine.
On July 7, Newsmax contributor Eric Bolling said there were many unanswered questions about the COVID-19 vaccination and its side effects.
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From the July 7, 2021, edition of Newsmax's John Bachman Now
ERIC BOLLING (NEWSMAX CONTRIBUTOR): First of all, you know, why do they think it's OK to just start knocking on citizens' doors and pushing and peddling a product, an idea, a thought, a decision — a medical decision on top of it — to the homeowners or the people inside? I think this isn't — first of all, I think it's insane. I think it's against our constitutional rights that we don't need government knocking on our doors telling us what to do. But I also think it's dangerous to the people that they pick to do that. Cause I'm sure they're going to be a lot of people who don't like the idea of someone walking up to the door and knocking on the door saying hey -- with a syringe in their hands -- saying, hey, you need to you need to get vaccinated. I know, technically they're not going to try and vaccinate them there. I get that. But still, to push that idea is very — I certainly wouldn't want to be the person walking up to a door in some rural parts of America, where you don't know what's behind that door. I think this is insane, and it probably is a recipe for disaster. But getting back to the personal liberties — I'm a libertarian. Let me decide what I want to put in my body and not what I want to. I don't tell — and my belief as a libertarian is I don't care who you sleep with or what you put in your body. That's your choice. OK? Government shouldn't tell you what to do with it, so don't do it back to me. The final thought, John, is this — there's some recent, recent situations now where even young people on the back side of getting the vaccine, have shown scarring of heart tissue. And we don't know if that's directly related to the vaccinations or not, but it might be and if it is, why are we pushing this on Americans before we know exactly, exactly what the outcome of all these vaccines are?
Taking a cue from Fox News, which has been working overtime to undermine the public’s trust in the COVID-19 vaccine, Newsmax is seeking to increase vaccine hesitancy in the United States. COVID-19 has killed over 600,000 Americans.