Penile implant specialist with history of far-right comments led hantavirus presser

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/15/politics/brian-christine-vaccine-skepticism-history

No paywall link
https://archive.li/WBn81

As the Trump administration sought to reassure Americans this week that a hantavirus outbreak posed little risk to the public, Dr. Brian Christine, one of the top public health officials in charge of infectious disease policy, stood before reporters in Nebraska promising a response “grounded in science” and “grounded in transparency.”

Before he joined the Trump administration last year, Christine was an Alabama-based urologist who specialized in penile implants. He has little public health experience and a history of far-right commentary and promoting conspiracy theories. He’s said the Covid pandemic led to a wider government plot to control people, compared the Biden administration to Nazi Germany and suggested the Covid vaccine had little effect in stopping the pandemic.

He once hosted a YouTube show called “Erection Connection,” a professional YouTube series on erectile dysfunction for fellow urologists.

A CNN review of archived podcast episodes, social media posts and radio appearances found that Christine repeatedly framed public health institutions, the federal government and pandemic-era policies as tools used to target conservatives and religious Americans.

In comments made on a podcast he hosted while running for Alabama state Senate in 2022, Christine questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

He also advocated for abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest and suggested there may have been a worldwide effort involving George Soros and figures associated with the World Economic Forum’s “Great Reset” to use the pandemic to force small businesses to close.

*snip*

Bunch of fucking whackjobs