Trump roasts RFK Jr. in White House Correspondents’ Dinner roadkill joke
At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Trump roasted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a joke about roadkill.
From the first confirmation hearing, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a controversial pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The former Independent presidential candidate turned top public health official has spearheaded an overhaul of the American public health system, from major staffing cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to spreading doubts about the safety of vaccines and cutting parasite monitoring programs before a widespread outbreak.
Now, for the first time in three decades since the disease was thought to be eradicated in the U.S., measles cases have reached a new high milestone. At just seven months into 2026, there have been more measles cases this year than in the entire year of 2025 — and there are still five months to go.
Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock, who represents the state that houses the CDC, has now said the rising measles cases are the last straw, and has called for Kennedy’s formal resignation.
Measles cases top 30-year high set in 2025
As of July 23, there have been 2,318 confirmed measles cases across 45 districts in the United States, according to CDC data.
There have been 35 new outbreaks this year, with 93% of the cases stemming from theses outbreaks. Of the confirmed cases, 93% occur in unvaccinated people, and half of all cases are in children under the age of 19.
There was a large spike in cases at the beginning of the year, stretching from late January into February, but cases have continued to be higher than the same period historically for the rest of the year.
In 2025, there were 2,289 cases over the entire year. This marked a 30-year high in the United States.
Measles caused three deaths last year, but no deaths from the infection have been reported in 2026, according to the CDC.
‘Enough is enough,’ Warnock says
Upon the publication of the measles data, Georgia Sen. Warnock said in posts on social media that “RFK Jr. should resign. And if he doesn’t resign, he ought to be fired.”
“Enough is enough,” he continued in another post. “Measles cases keep breaking new records and all our Health Secretary has done is pour fuel on the fire.”
Warnock ultimately extended the sentiment to the entire administration, saying it has “undermined” the science behind vaccines and continues to spread “reckless rhetoric” that “has deadly consequences.”
And it’s not a new message from the senator. He has repeatedly called on the Trump Administration to change the head of HHS, including in November when he said Kennedy was “spreading falsehoods about vaccines.”
Kennedy has gone back and forth over his stance on the measles, or MMR, vaccine. He has continued to sow doubt about vaccine safety, but has also said he is not anti-vaccine or anti-MMR vaccine.
Recently, amid hearings with former Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, Kennedy said Americans no longer trust public health institutions or things like vaccines because of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled, not current rhetoric or his leadership at HHS.
Irene Wright covers Georgia’s politicians as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.