NC Democratic Senate Nominee Promotes Coronavirus Vaccine Conspiracy Theories During Debate
Cal Cunningham insinuated that he believed the FDA had been corrupted by “political and financial influences” that “are leading to distorted decision-making” in DC. He also noted he’d be “hesitant” to take the vaccine.
On Monday night, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and his Democratic opponent Cal Cunnigham faced off in an hour-long debate. Though a wide variety of issues were discussed, the possibility that a Wuhan Coronavirus vaccine would be approved and made available before the election took center stage.
In a bizarre exchange with Tillis and moderator David Crabtree, Cunningham tried to lend credence to conspiracy theories floated by the Biden-Harris presidential ticket and other Democrats. They have suggested without evidence that President Trump has been deliberately putting pressure on scientists to skip safety protocols and approve a vaccine before Election Day.
Cunningham repeatedly insinuated in his remarks that he believed the FDA had been corrupted by “political and financial influences” that he claims “are leading to distorted decision-making in Washington”:
Historically and traditionally, I would support and have confidence in the Food and Drug Administration and the processes that they go through in order to approve a drug, but we have seen an extraordinary corruption in Washington. … I would have a lot of questions of the FDA. I think the American people have questions about the government of this country, the governance of this country right now. The senator for North Carolina would be asking questions, not only about this vaccine, but also about the underlying political and financial influences that are leading to distorted decision-making in Washington.”
When Crabtree pressed him to clarify his response, Cunningham appeared to trip over his words for a moment, stating:
“Yes, I would be hesitant, but I’m going to ask a lot of questions. I think that is incumbent on all of us right now, in this environment, with the way we’ve seen politics intervening in Washington.”
Tillis blasted back, noting that the FDA would not approve a vaccine that is not safe and effective:
“We just heard a candidate for the U.S. Senate look into the camera and tell 10 million North Carolinians he would be hesitant to take a vaccine. I think that that’s irresponsible. … We are not going to release a vaccine that does not have the effectiveness and safety that the gold standard of the FDA requires,” Tillis added.
Watch Cunningham answer Crabtree’s question on whether or not he’d take the vaccine – and Tillis calling him out on his “irresponsible” answer – in the two clips below:
Even Washington Post White House reporter Seung Min Kim seemed taken aback by Cunningham’s answer:
Wow – Cunningham indicates he won't take a coronavirus vaccine if one is made available: "I've got questions" because he's seen "politics intervening in what should be driven by health and science."
"Yes, I would be hesitant." #ncsen
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 14, 2020
The condemnations on Twitter to Cunningham promoting politically-motivated and unfounded anti-vax conspiracy theories were swift:
This man is running for the US Senate. I would call this idiotic, conspiratorial cowshit if it wasn’t so dangerous. Anti-vaccine fear-mongering for his own political benefit. So anti-Trump he is anti-science. https://t.co/WfckPYlzmQ
— Dagen McDowell (@dagenmcdowell) September 15, 2020
North Caroline Senate debate answer by the Democrat Cal Cunningham is getting attention. https://t.co/qEx71FLUYx
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) September 15, 2020
There are scientists up and down the U.S. government who have put their name by this vaccine process—one of whom is Dr. Fauci. This is indefensible. https://t.co/NztyLkyiDJ
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) September 15, 2020
From Joe Biden to Kamala Harris to Cal Cunningham, the Democrat Party is trafficking in dangerous conspiracies about the coronavirus vaccine. https://t.co/1TA6e425GM
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 14, 2020
.@CalforNC actually ran Facebook ads about the importance of trusting Dr. Fauci.
Now Cal is contradicting Dr. Fauci on the safety of a COVID vaccine to score political points.
When politics are your North Star you tend to contradict yourself. #NCsen #NCpol pic.twitter.com/nXOkQ8eO9H
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) September 15, 2020
Soooo… I'm not sure who needs to hear this right now…. but….
Cal's answer on vaccines is not going over very well…#NCSenateDebate #NCsen #NCpol
— Pete Kaliner (@PeteKaliner) September 15, 2020
Cunningham’s comments about the vaccine generated such an uproar that he was already trying to walk them back in a post-debate interview:
CLEAN UP on aisle 5: Democrat @CalforNC is already trying to walk back his debate comments about not taking an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine. #ncsen pic.twitter.com/wPt29CK9Ql
— Chris Martin (@chrisjdmartin) September 15, 2020
Cunningham in the spin room says if the FDA signs off on a vaccine and it is free of politics, “absolutely I will take it.” #ncsen
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) September 15, 2020
As I’ve said before, what Democrats like Cunningham are doing is feeding a dangerous Democrat-led anti-vaxxer movement not based on science, but the basis of their hatred for President Trump.
The left fears that a vaccine delivered before November would move more voters to pull the lever for Trump. Because of this, it appears that they would actually be willing to either delay the release of an FDA-approved Wuhan Coronavirus vaccine or downplay its potential to help millions of people – all for nakedly partisan reasons.
It remains to be seen as to whether this will ultimately be a persuasive argument for Democrats in other races. But Cunningham found out Monday night in short order that that kind of answer is not going to fly well here in North Carolina at all.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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Comments
So the Democrats think the FDA would approve a vaccine that kills them? This is beyond reason.
Well DEM iz CrAzY……..
Jim Cramer Just Called Nancy Pelosi
‘Crazy Nancy’ To Her Face
https://twitter.com/TrumpJew/status/1305882803226193921
Bill Gates Slams FDA, Doubts Agency Can Be Trusted With COVID-19 Vaccine
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/bill-gates-slams-fda-questions-whether-fda-can-be-trusted-covid-19-vaccine
“FDA had been corrupted by “political and financial influences”
That happened under Obummer’s watch.
We should make drug company ads in any media illegal again.
They non-stop ads for drugs are making me sick!!!!!
That happened long before Obama
So who will he accept as the authority to approve the vaccine? WHO? China? He’s the one leading the charge for mandatory vaccines. Just playing the latest political attack game.
It’s irrelevant now. The CDC just came out and announced there would be no vaccine until at least late next year. So now the question is: who started this and where did they get the idea that a vaccine was imminent?
I’m not going to rush go get the vaccine when its not…not because I’m some anti-vaxer nutcase but because I don’t want to be tge first guinea pig for something that won’t have the same amount of testing as previous vaccines have had.
Same. Especially when I’m not in a high-risk group.
I am high risk, and I have managed to avoid catching it so far. My ability to ward off an adverse reaction is compromised, and for that reason I will wait. Young and middle aged people can deal better with adverse reactions.
I worked with both Bio and Pharma while in the Beltway, I don’t trust either to not screw up or to even intentionally hide risks.
Are you taking quinine, zinc, vitamin D, etc?
I am glad that the intake of quinine builds up in your body – per one article I read. Hope its correct.
I was also glad to find some study done in about 2005 found that quinine is effective against all flues.
I’m betting if H1N1 would have survived long enough to get a vaccine under the regime this CLOWN would have demanded we all get it.
I personally don’t trust any vaccine that comes out of this. I especially don’t trust the intense campaign that will ensue to pressure everyone to take it. For those of us who believe in the conspiracies, having Bill Gates spearheading the vaccination campaign begs the question? WHY!?!? Since when does he care about the little people? He’s a CFR guy!
No thanks. I’ll risk it. I’ve yet to be infected by a flu and I like the odds of that continuing. Who knows what Bill Gates is so anxious to inject in us.
Hear. Hear.
Bill Gates’s push for this vaccine “does not compute”.
The single event that elevated Microsoft into its present form was not an internal development. Yes, they had BASIC for the planned IBM PC but not the operating system. That was a creation of Seattle Computer and bought for $50,000 after a stupendous error by CPM’s developer in California (actually his wife’s poor decision). So QDOS (quick and dirty operating system … a knock off of CPM) was truncated to DOS and away Microsoft went.
Windows was a knock off of Mac which was a knock off of Zerox PARC research.
So the Gates vaccine will be a knock off some Wuhan lab flu virus?
This is exactly the ruse played by Nancy Pelosi to win the Speakership: run to the right of the Republican.
The Democrats perceive a vein of distrust of our medical establishment, and hope to exploit it.
Politics has nothing to do with my vaccine stand. I remember the swine flu vaccine debacle do, no, I won’t be taking this one in the first year.
In the haste to distribute the Salk vaccine… a killed viurs vaccine… a batch was not killed and sent out… infecting and paralyzing a number of people…especially kids… who later developed Post-Polio Syndrome… the gift that kept on giving.
I am old enough to remember thalidomide, which was prescribed for a variety of conditions including morning sickness associated with pregnancy. Truly horrifying birth defects ensued. I would not take any medication that did not have a LONG track record of safe and effective use.
How long is LONG enough for me? When I was in my 30s, my mother saw a report on the news that made her call all of her daughters immediately — she didn’t want any of them to spend even a moment wondering whether she had taken a morning sickness medication when she was pregnant with them decades earlier (she hadn’t). Seems that young women in their 30s were suddenly experiencing an increased incidence in some dreaded disease (cancer, I think) and that researchers had associated the increase with a prenatal medication taken by their mothers during pregnancy. It’s been at least 40 years since then and I don’t remember the name of the drug or other details, but I do remember my mother’s deep concern that her daughters would be worried if they watched the news before she could reassure them.
When I was senior in high school, on independent study, I did an experiment with thalidomide, injecting chicken eggs and incubating them.
There was a very arrogant jock whose mother packed hard boiled eggs in his lunch.
I had extra eggs, so I put one in the frig overnight, then back into the incubator for a week. I swapped his egg for on of mine.
This was a small school, my graduating class was less than a hundred. The gym also served as the cafeteria.
When he got around to eating his hard boiled egg, cracked it, this stinky, bloody, malformed chick spilled out on the table in front of him. He gagged and then upchucked his lunch.
His rep really suffered over that.
While that was a great joke at his expense, there were a lot of badly deformed babies over thalidomide, and that was tragic.
Thalidomide was safe for 2nd and third trimesters after organogenesis. Dire consequences for first trimester. It has anti-cancer properties when used appropriately. The FDA touts this as their success in saving America but the bureaucratic delays in the FDA allowed world literature to show the risks… not the FDA.
Depends on who you listen too. People of some serious medical sophistication have told me that thalidomide was one of the true wonder drugs, but was not prescribed for pregnant women because its effects on them had not yet been evaluated. But for everyone else it was fantastic. In fact it was so good that stupid pregnant women, feeling left out of all the benefits, were taking their husband’s prescriptions . . . with results we all know. So, in typical heavy-handed government fashion, the drug was banned (since, I guess, there’s no effective drug—or government—treatment for stupid women), those benefiting from the beneficial effects of the drug were just s— out of luck, and the company which had developed this marvel went out of business.
“I would have a lot of questions of the FDA. I think the American people have questions about the government of this country, the governance of this country right now. The senator for North Carolina would be asking questions, not only about this vaccine, but also about the underlying political and financial influences that are leading to distorted decision-making in Washington.”
The perfect logic for having small government
The other day, a Democrat commented on Facebook that Republicans invent Conspiracy Theories just to scare themselves and each other. Sort-of like kids inventing ghost stories to tell round the campfire.
And suddenly I realized that this person is just like me back in the day. They just want to live Happily Ever After. By the logical fallacy of Name Calling, they dismiss the Conspiracy Theories not because they aren’t true, but because they are terrified of them.
http://www.lenorathompsonwriter.com/beyondnarcissism/kickin-and-screamin-a-red-pilled-love-story
“invent Conspiracy Theories”
Similar to being accused of being paranoid, sometimes there are people scheming to do wrong to others, and sometimes those others understand this and are taking countermeasures. My career was filed with a lot of that. It is down right funny when the fox discovers at the e1evth hour that the joke is on them.
Trump is truly living rent free inside these Dems heads (Biden and Harris included). It is impossible to know how many suffered and died because the media attacked the Hydrochloroquine treatments because Orange Man Bad. Now this will definitely result in many thousands of needless deaths. When will these people learn?
Cunningham repeatedly insinuated in his remarks that he believed the FDA had been corrupted by “political and financial influences”
Is there any doubt that this statement is 100% correct? The only fabrication here is the implication that these “influences” are new villainies imported by PDJT. But they were already deeply burrowed in long before he arrived.
FDA is in Washington. Everything in Washington has been corrupted by political and financial influences, and a good number of other influences besides.
I’ll bet not one in a thousand people popping off about this know anything at all about the FDA, its history, its putative function, or its real function. I don’t either, but I know I don’t. I don’t even play a physician on TV, but I’m from a medical family and have kept my ears open for decades—and I think I have solid grounds for being skeptical of anything the FDA says or does.
This is not a “conspiracy theory”, this is the Washington Way. And blind belief in any noise coming out of Washington isn’t “science”, it’s gullibility.
And of course, he’s right, whatever we end up with will have been rushed. In the normal course of reports, tests, reports, trials, and more reports, the time for FDA to approve a new drug is on the order of decades. Anything which appears in a matter of months has very obviously been rushed. Whether that’s a problem is another matter, but not one the consumer is in a position to evaluate.
Nothing in the Federal Government is free of political and financial influence. It simply isn’t possible.
Trump Derangement/Orange Man Bad has turned into a mass psychosis. I’ve heard people claim Betsy DeVos paid off the AAP to issue their recommendation urging school reopening.
So now the Party of Science is running an anti-vaxxer?
It’s like Damon Lindelof is writing this season’s script.
I’m sort of split here. My objection is that they’re short-cutting a 5 year process to less than a year which means you get no data of effect over time and that doesn’t even get into which corners they’re cutting. I won’t be accepting this vaccine anytime sooner than 5 years from it’s release and anybody who wants to try to force the issue is getting shot.
BIG difference between a vaccine and a drug
The fact of the matter is that he’s right. It has been rushed through production, there has been no animal testing done, and no studies on post-vaccine injuries. Several people were hospitalized as a result of taking it initially.
Additionally, many people are allergic (or don’t KNOW that that they are allergic) to PEG – a chemical in the vaccine that facilitates the mRNA to insert itself into OUR DNA and change our basic structure. This will lead to dangerous anaphylactic reactions as well as increasing the chances of new cancers as a result of DNA changes.
On top of that, the new DNA can be passed to offspring – possibly rendering them infertile.
In general, as with ALL vaccines now available, follow-up safety studies were NEVER done. Don’t believe me? Look it up! I ask you: Why have so many people been injured or died as a result of a vaccine and yet the survivors were not able to sue the pharmaceutical companies for harm? The answer? A law was passed in 1989, after $4 billion in lawsuits paid out to pharmaceutical companies, that prevented any further lawsuits against them them.
Money is the reason for this corruption, and Money is the reason for the new vaccine. Billions, even trillions, stand to be earned by pharmaceutical companies with this unneeded and unnecessary treatment. And WHY is it not needed? Because an effective treatment exists for the virus. When an illness can be successfully cured with a medication (in this case, HCQ, Zinc, and Azythromycin), there is no need for a vaccine! But, no, you won’t hear this from the msm and the leftist politicians. They have too much money tied up in the vaccine and damn the safety concerns!
I agree with Cal Cunningham and I will stand by that until you can prove it to me otherwise against any of the facts that I’ve presented (and then some!)
Like I said: Don’t believe me? I DON’T CARE. I did my research; you do yours.