During the first term of the following President Trump, former US Surgeon General Dr. There is an interview transcript with Jerome Adams, which broadcast on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brain” on 10 August 2025.
Margaret Brainon: We are now former Surgeon General Dr. Jerome turns to Adams, who first served in Trump administration. Welcome back to face the nation.
Former American Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams: Thanks, Margaret.
Margaret Brainon: I want to ask you about this tragic shooting in Atlanta on Friday. I think there were at least four CDC buildings that were shot, and our colleagues are reporting that investigators are looking at the objectives, including the suspect that the suspect believed that he was ill as a result of the covid vaccine. What do you create widespread impact on the health workers on the CDC ground along with this incident?
Dr. Adams: Yes. Well, first, on behalf of American people, I want to thank dedicated professionals in CDC and all public health and medical workers in this country. And I also want to honor the officer David Rose, who made a final sacrifice while protecting families and people who have worked in CDC. My heartfelt condolences go out for his family, his friends and his colleagues. And finally, I want to be clear, because our secretaries of HHS are not. Violence is never an answer, whether your depression or anger level is with the system. We have to find a better, more peaceful ways to express our concerns and work towards a solution. Now, Margaret, quickly asked about the secretary and how you respond to a crisis, defines a leader, and quite clearly, Secretary Kennedy has failed his first major exam in this regard. It took him more than 18 hours to release a difficult response to these horrific firing, and it is not even that his inflammatory rhetoric in the past has really contributed a lot about what is going on.
Margaret Brainan: They are some strong words. I mean the secretary issued a statement stating that no one should face violence while working to protect the health of others. Do you think he needs to condemn this shooter and his perceived inspirations more? I mean, there, there is a lot of anger against health officials over the years, to be fair. Why do you think the secretary needs to address it himself?
Dr. Adams: Well, before considering running for the Secretary, President or Secretary, was involved in an outbreak in the US Samoa, where 83 people died, more than 70 of them, in response to the outbreak of measles, local authorities on the ground said they helped in inflammation. As the President, he said, “I will dry Sespool in CDC and blame people, while he was running for the President, he made this statement last year.” Unfortunately, someone tried to hold him responsible. And then, as Secretary of HHS, it took him 18 hours to respond to this shoot, and he still has not unevenly condemned the violence. He said that no one should be harmed while working to protect the public. There is one out, Margaret. If you do not believe that people are working to protect the public, it means that violence is fine, at least in the eyes of some people. Dr. Vinay Prasad, who Lieutenant HHS Secretary Kennedy said, “I do not believe in apology because these pieces in my opinion, and he said, human malinctions are still lying.” So I am upset. I am upset because the people of CDC were calling me while it was running, asking for the cover that they could not meet their secretary.
Margaret Brainon: What were they asking you to do?
Dr. Adams: They were asking me to make a public statement because they felt under the attack. They did not know if it was going to continue. They were scared, and they wanted someone, someone who felt that there is a public voice to go out there and it is wrong to say. Violence is wrong. This is not the answer.
Margaret Brainon: Well, of course, I think we all want to be careful in the language we use and accurate, of course on this program. And I think what you were mentioning, some secretary Kennedy said when he was the presidential candidate. But in the office too, in this program the FDA Commissioner said that he wrote an article “Why people do not trust the CDC”. The Secretary himself has said in the past, CDC is a seespool of corruption. You, to be clear, want the leaders of our health institutions come out and say that they now believe in CDC?
Dr. Adams: Absolutely. I have recently written an op-ed which is in State News where I talked about it. As leaders, we have to be responsible with what we are saying and how we are saying it. We have to understand that people are listening. And when you call the CDC a cesspool, when you say that I will hold people responsible, when you make claims that have proved to be wrong time and time about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, it can cause unexpected results. And so when I do not know Secretary Kennedy personally, and I do not want to make, claiming about his character, I will say on the basis of his actions and his rhetoric, he is adding, he is fanning the flames that lead to the circumstances seen in the CDC.
Margaret Brainon: I want to ask you about the health policy, because a few days ago, Secretary Kennedy made a declaration that $ 500 million for America TK research is known as MRNA in that technique. You are very familiar with this because it was used to achieve that covid vaccine very quickly during the operation taunting speed. “However, don’t work against upper respiratory infections,” said Secretary Kennedy said, however, quotes MRNA vaccines. Do you know what it means? And stopping this research what does it do for the preparation of epidemic?
Dr. Adams: Okay, this is not true. We know that- from the most conservative estimates, more than 2 million people have survived due to MRNA technology. This helped us develop Covid-19 vaccines in record time. And this is quite clearly, the biggest achievement of President Trump. It is attractive to me whether in this conversation whether they should receive the Nobel Prize for something, what they should be considered for the Nobel Prize are trying to weaken their health secretary. For those who may not be familiar, however, Margaret, MRNA stands for Messenger MRNA, is a natural molecule that is in all our bodies. It is like a recipe card that tells your body how to make protein. And this idea, again, helps us develop vaccines and new remedies for everything from cancer, melanoma, which my wife has HIV, better flu vaccines and zika. These are advances which are not going to happen now. People are going to die because we are cutting less funding for this technique.
Margaret Brainon: It is interesting that you talk about the great achievement of President Trump there, because he was asked about my colleague, Nancy Cordes, Operation Taana Speed, and this week he has said this. Listen.
[BEGIN SOUND ON TAPE]
Donald Trump: Operation was taunting speed, whether you are Republican or Democrat, one of the most incredible things ever in this country. Efficiency, the way it was done, distribution, everything about it was amazing.
[END SOUND ON TAPE]
Margaret Brainon: If we did not have MRNA vaccines, what would happen in 2020?
Dr. Adams: If we did not have MRNA vaccines, the best experts of the time, Bill Gates, Tony Faisi, were saying that it would take at least 18 to 24 additional months to get the vaccine. The previous record, Margaret, was six years to obtain the vaccine using the technique, which he wanted to return to the entire virus technique. And so, as I mentioned, from the most conservative estimates, at least 2 million people were saved. Many people say that up to 20 million lives were saved due to vaccines. This is the biggest achievement of President Trump, none.
Margaret Brainon: Senator Bill Cassidi, which I think you know, Republican, a doctor, he voted to confirm Secretary Kennedy, “unfortunate is” unfortunate that the secretary canceled only half a billion dollars, which is already wasting money invested, “in other words, it is not getting back. And he said that it is “accepting this important technique for China.” Here is the matter, Secretary Kennedy said, MN-MN-forgiveness, Secretary Kennedy said that this technology is helpful against cancer. Can you have these two ways? Can you stop investment but still can take some parts of it and preserve it?
Dr. Adams: Well, this is a great question, and it is absolutely the case that you cannot discredit MRNA technology. Even if you develop a new technology for other areas, people are not going to trust it. There are not- they are not going to pick it up. And the way research works, it is that whatever we have learned about MRNA technology, and has given rise to enthusiasm, innovation, progress to develop covid vaccines, which now offers opportunities for cancer. Therefore it risks the stalling process- progress in many most promising areas of modern medicine.
Margaret Brainan: Dr. Adams, thanks for your time this morning.
Dr. Adams: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. And if you have questions about the vaccine, talk to your doctor, because unfortunately, our current secretaries are not spreading information which is knowledgeable, it is appropriate, and that it is not the flames of the flames that cause circumstances that cause circumstances- in the CDC.
Margaret Brainan: Dr. Adams, I appreciate your time. We will come back in a moment.
