{"id":920894,"date":"2026-07-19T02:13:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T07:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/turns-out-rfk-jr-lied-to-congress-about-that-trip-to-samoa\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T02:13:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T07:13:52","slug":"turns-out-rfk-jr-lied-to-congress-about-that-trip-to-samoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/turns-out-rfk-jr-lied-to-congress-about-that-trip-to-samoa\/","title":{"rendered":"Turns Out RFK Jr. Lied to Congress About That Trip to Samoa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the Senate last year that a trip to Samoa in 2019 right before a deadly measles outbreak had \u201cnothing to do with vaccines.\u201d New evidence from <\/span>The Guardian<\/span><\/a><\/i> <\/i>suggests he may have lied.<\/span><\/p>\n

In emails between Kennedy\u2019s team and Samoan officials, one of Kennedy\u2019s colleagues said they were on a \u201cmission\u201d to investigate the island\u2019s medical records. There had been a 10-month pause in vaccinations after two infants died due to an improperly prepared MMR vaccine, and anti-vaccine activists gained interest in the island as a potential case study in the health of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children.*<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe mission involves health informatics evaluation from medical record data from all hospitals and clinics in Samoa to evaluate outcomes associated with the recent discontinuity in vaccinations,\u201d Dr. Michael Graven, who worked at Kennedy\u2019s anti-vaccine group Children\u2019s Health Defense, wrote in a 2019 email. \u201cMr. Kennedy asked me to join this mission as I have performed health informatics initiatives in 48 other countries over 40 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This stands in direct contrast with how Kennedy repeatedly described his work to the Senate. In response to questioning from Senator Ron Wyden during his confirmation hearings last year, Kennedy said, \u201cI went there, nothing to do with vaccines. I went there to produce a medical informatics system with digitalized records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the emails obtained by <\/span>The<\/span> <\/span>Guardian<\/span><\/i> tell a different story. Graven said in emails that he and Kennedy planned to spend weeks collecting data in Samoa, but the two ended up leaving just a few days after arriving. Antone Greubel, a State Department employee who was stationed in Samoa, sent an email on June 4 to his colleagues: \u201cBased on conversations with my contacts RFK and Dr [Graven] fell far short of their goal to influence Samoan government vaccination policy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A few months after Kennedy\u2019s visit, a measles outbreak killed 83 people out of a population of around 200,000, most of them children under five.<\/span><\/p>\n

* This story has been updated to clarify the details about the vaccine.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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President Trump, who definitely has not read all of the media coverage<\/a> of the weak attendance at his rally on the National Mall on Wednesday night, insists that the event was \u201cpacked to the brim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crowd was incredible last night, packed to the brim \u2014 At least 45,000 people were there, with a huge Television and online audience. I wish we were able to have an even larger area, which we will be able to do on July 4th when I\u2019ll be speaking again,\u201d the president wrote<\/a> Thursday afternoon on Truth Social. \u201cThe airplane flyovers and music were fantastic. Everybody stayed right until the end of my Speech because they loved hearing about a truly successful America.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Images of the rally, which kicked off the Great American State Fair, show that there was ample space to move around. Footage<\/a> also shows that multiple people left right in the middle of Trump\u2019s speech and did not stay \u201cright until the end\u201d as the president claimed. At least one person fell asleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Trump:
\u201cThe crowd was incredible last night packed to the brim. Everyone stayed right until the end of my speech because they loved hearing about a truly successful America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone \ud83e\udd23\ud83d\udc47 pic.twitter.com\/GETPb3THi4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 Marlene Robertson\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@marlene4719) June 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Trump has long enjoyed inflating his crowd numbers. He has claimed his <\/span>July 4, 2019 speech<\/a> and his infamous <\/span>J6 rally<\/a> in 2021 were both bigger than the 250,000-person March on Washington in 1963. Neither was true. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Alligator Alcatraz, the infamous Florida detention camp, will be closed, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

DeSantis said the detention center, where immigrants <\/span>described<\/span><\/a> worms in their food, floors flooded with sewage, and <\/span>enormous bugs<\/span><\/a>, was not meant to be a permanent installation, <\/span>the AP reported<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt served its purpose for the time,\u201d DeSantis said at a press conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alligator Alcatraz was hastily erected nearly a year ago, and has been described by many as a <\/span>concentration camp<\/span><\/a>. The detention center was temporarily closed earlier this month in advance of hurricane season, and lawyers said that they didn\u2019t hear from their clients being held at the facility for over a week. The detainees have since been scattered between South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana, and Texas, reported the AP.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rumors began in May that the detention center <\/span>would soon be closed<\/span><\/a>, after Florida officials told President Donald Trump that it cost $1 million each day to operate.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Though one symbol of Trump\u2019s inhumane immigration crackdown is disappearing, the mass deportation campaign continues. ICE is still <\/span>terrorizing neighborhoods<\/span><\/a>, and Trump\u2019s assault on free speech and dissent is <\/span>well underway<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

DeSantis said at the press conference that 21,000 people were deported through Alligator Alcatraz. That\u2019s 21,000 people who had to endure toilets that didn\u2019t flush, bugs in their food, sweltering heat, and freezing cold\u2014treated like \u201crats in an experiment,\u201d as one detainee told <\/span>CBS<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Elizabeth Warren had to explain to President Trump\u2019s pick to lead the White House Council of Economic Advisers that 4.2 percent is more than 3.4 percent. <\/p>\n

At a confirmation hearing Thursday for Christopher Phelan, the Democratic senator made the point that inflation is outpacing wage growth, and thereby diminishing Americans\u2019 purchasing power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou\u2019ve already told me inflation is 4.2 percent, right? What\u2019s the annual wage growth right now?\u201d Warren asked<\/a> Phelan, an economist at the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not have that in front of me right now,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Warren sighed. \u201cIt\u2019s 3.4 percent. So let\u2019s put this one together. Is 4.2 higher than 3.4?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI will repeat what I said, which is: Real wage growth in this administration is positive,\u201d Phelan said, ignoring Warren\u2019s obvious point that inflation was rising faster than wages. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now families are falling behind,\u201d Warren replied. \u201cThese are facts that come out of the Trump administration, they\u2019re there for anybody to see. And you can\u2019t bring yourself, as the person who sits there and says, \u2018I want to be the head of the Council of Economic Advisors,\u2019 to give objective economic advice. You can\u2019t even say, \u2018Yeah, inflation is running higher than wages right now.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this person has disqualified himself,\u201d she concluded. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Here\u2019s video of the exchange, via The Bulwark<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Sen. Warren: “What’s the annual wage growth right now? It’s just a facts question.”<\/p>\n

Phelan: “I do not have that in front of me right now.”<\/p>\n

Warren: “It’s 3.4%. So let’s put this one together. Is 4.2% higher than 3.4%?”<\/p>\n

Phelan: “I will repeat what I said, which is real wage\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/G01jYmgPYX<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) June 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law Michael Boulos sat in on official meetings in the United Arab Emirates because he\u2019s a good friend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rubio met with UAE leaders while on a diplomatic trip to the Middle East. Boulos, Tiffany Trump\u2019s husband, was apparently there to see his brother. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe was there to see his brother that lives here\u2014he was just there to see me and catch up,\u201d Rubio later told reporters while in Kuwait City.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut there was a working lunch, right?\u201d one reporter asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was, but he wasn\u2019t\u2014the conversations around him had to do with\u2014he was just here because his brother lives here, and I\u2019m a good friend of Michael\u2019s, so we had a chance to catch up,\u201d Rubio stammered.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Marco Rubio on why Trump’s son in law, Michael Boulos, who has no government role, was in his official meetings in Kuwait: “He was just here because his brother lives here and I’m a good friend of Michael’s, so we had a chance to catch up” pic.twitter.com\/YsSGoomMe3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

The working lunch in question was attended by UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed. Boulos was pictured sitting next to Rubio in the middle of the table. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMet with UAE\u2019s President @MohamedBinZayed in Abu Dhabi, where we discussed President Trump\u2019s MOU with Iran, efforts to secure full and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and regional stability,\u201d Rubio posted on X Wednesday, sharing a full photo of the group. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\"X<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

Boulos is a businessman with no government role. But that hasn\u2019t stopped the president\u2019s close relatives from <\/span>meeting with world leaders<\/span><\/a> before. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump broker deals across the globe, which definitely doesn\u2019t have anything to do with the fact that daddy is the president.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rachel Kahn
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the Senate last year that a trip to Samoa in 2019 right before a deadly measles outbreak had \u201cnothing to do with vaccines.\u201d New evidence from The Guardian suggests he may have lied. In emails between Kennedy\u2019s team and Samoan officials, one of Kennedy\u2019s colleagues said they were on a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":920895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2542,1870],"tags":[6262,5525],"class_list":["post-920894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-congress","category-turns","tag-congress","tag-turns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}