‘He lied to you’: Jake Tapper confronts GOP senator over RFK Jr breaking vaccine promise

WASHINGTON, DC: CNN anchor Jake Tapper engaged in a tense showdown with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy on Sunday, November 23, accusing the lawmaker of being misled by Robert F Kennedy Jr regarding his stance on vaccines.

In a heated interview on 'State of the Union', Tapper confronted Cassidy, a licensed physician who cast the decisive vote to confirm Kennedy as HHS secretary, about Kennedy’s recent directive to the CDC to remove language stating there is "no link" between vaccines and autism.

Jake Tapper accuses Robert F Kennedy Jr of misleading comments

Tapper played a clip from Kennedy's confirmation hearing in February, where Cassidy had explicitly asked if Kennedy would accept data showing vaccines do not cause autism.

In the clip, Kennedy replied, "Not only will I do that, but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise."

"Dr Cassidy, he lied to you!" Tapper exclaimed after the clip ended, pointing out that Kennedy had done the exact opposite by altering the CDC's guidance this week.

Cassidy, however, refused to take the bait to attack Kennedy personally. Instead, he pivoted to a public health message.

"Let me say what is most important to the American people, speaking as a physician, vaccines are safe," Cassidy said. "It’s actually quite well proven that vaccines are not associated with autism. There’s a fringe out there that thinks so, but they’re quite a fringe."

Bill Cassidy refuses to engage in 'tit-for-tat' 

Tapper continued to press, asking if Cassidy regretted his vote and cited a recent essay by Kennedy’s own cousin, Tatiana Schlossberg, who slammed the HHS Secretary for "causing real damage."

"You don’t seem willing to criticize him by name at all, unlike members of his family," Tapper challenged.

Cassidy pushed back, accusing the host of seeking "titillation" rather than substance.

"So, Jake, clearly, this conversation, you want me to be on the record saying something negative," Cassidy shot back. "And, of course, it makes news if Republicans fight each other. I get that... But I don't think the tit-for-tat is what people are about."

The senator insisted that his focus remains on legislation to lower healthcare costs and ensuring patients have power over insurance companies.

CDC website change sparks alarm 

The confrontation comes after the CDC website was updated to state that "scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism," a direct reversal of the agency's previous stance.

Cassidy acknowledged the change was "important," but maintained that "President Trump agrees that vaccines are safe."

"If you don’t take them, you’re putting your child or yourself in greater danger," Cassidy warned, citing recent measles deaths in Texas as a grim consequence of vaccine hesitancy.