RFK Jr. Nomination Sparks Market Downturn and Public Health Concerns | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 0:30

   Markets slide as RFK Jr. is tapped for HHS and Fed signals fewer rate cuts

   1. KSKara Swisher0:00

      The postelection Trump bump has come to an end with the markets closing lower last Friday and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ seeing their biggest one-day losses in two weeks. The downturn is being attributed in part to President-Elect Donald Trump announcing RFK Jr. as his Health and Human Services Secretary. Shares of major vaccine, uh, drug, uh, and drug makers, including Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca tumbled in the wake of the news. Uh, what do you think? Shares of Eli Lilly and Novo, uh, Nordisk fell, he's against Ozempic by the way, as processed food stocks,

2. 0:30 – 1:23

   The McDonald’s photo op: credibility problems for “Make America Healthy Again”

   1. KSKara Swisher0:30

      including PepsiCo, Coke, and General mis- Mills. The markets were also reacting to Jerome Powell saying the Fed is in no hurry to make further interest rate cuts. Um, what's your take on this? And the pick in general, he says he wants to make America healthy again. They have to stop with this Make America Whatever Again. Um, W- America was never healthy, let's start with that RFK Jr. um, which I loved eating at McDonald's on the private plane with Trump and Elon Musk. It was (laughs) someone likened it to making the cop take the drugs just to make sure he's not a cop. I-

   2. SGScott Galloway1:01

      (laughs) He's not a cop.

   3. KSKara Swisher1:02

      I love, what?

   4. SGScott Galloway1:03

      Yeah, that was it, making the new guy do drugs-

   5. KSKara Swisher1:04

      Uh, yeah.

   6. SGScott Galloway1:04

      ... to make sure he's not a cop.

   7. KSKara Swisher1:05

      Oh, he looked such in pain. What a fucking asshole. He talks about McDonald's being poison and then he's sitting there with one. What a dumbass that guy is. Anyway, what do you think of this? What do you think of this?

   8. SGScott Galloway1:15

      It's like when-

   9. KSKara Swisher1:15

      Yeah.

   10. SGScott Galloway1:15

       ... you're in Vegas and s- and a pro asks you to show your genitals to make sure you're not a cop. I just heard about this.

   11. KSKara Swisher1:20

       Yeah, no, okay.

   12. SGScott Galloway1:20

       I wouldn't know firsthand.

   13. KSKara Swisher1:21

       I don't either.

   14. SGScott Galloway1:21

       But I've heard that happens.

   15. KSKara Swisher1:23

       Yeah.

3. 1:23 – 2:00

   Biopharma market reaction: tens of billions erased on ‘anti-vax’ fears

   1. SGScott Galloway1:23

      Um, Big Ed and the Twinster. Anyone wants to see Big Ed and the Twins, that's fine with me. The market has been remarkably, right? And I see that As a negative forward-looking indicator, because Moderna-

   2. KSKara Swisher1:32

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SGScott Galloway1:32

      ... uh, on word that Kennedy would be head of, um, HHS-

   4. KSKara Swisher1:37

      Mm-hmm.

   5. SGScott Galloway1:38

      ... um, was down 21%.

   6. KSKara Swisher1:40

      Yeah.

   7. SGScott Galloway1:40

      Yeah, Pfizer down seven. Uh, Eli Lilly, I mean, this is, uh, this is a- a tens if not... tens of billions-

   8. KSKara Swisher1:48

      Yeah.

   9. SGScott Galloway1:48

      ... if not even maybe over 100 billion in- in market value draw down. Because this guy has a reputation. No, he can't fool anybody.

   10. KSKara Swisher1:56

       Mm-hmm.

   11. SGScott Galloway1:56

       He is crazy anti-vask- uh, anti-vax.

   12. KSKara Swisher1:59

       Mm-hmm.

4. 2:00 – 2:37

   ‘Horseshoe theory’ in action: when far-left and far-right meet at conspiracy

   1. SGScott Galloway2:00

      With the- with the key, you know, the operative term there being crazy. And it's very disappointed because, uh, uh... it's very disappointing because what I would argue is that whenever you have the far left on the far right-

   2. KSKara Swisher2:12

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SGScott Galloway2:12

      ... come together on something, it's a really bad fucking idea.

   4. KSKara Swisher2:14

      Yeah, you're right.

   5. SGScott Galloway2:15

      Whether it's reckless-

   6. KSKara Swisher2:15

      He's left.

   7. SGScott Galloway2:15

      ... spending, antisemitism.

   8. KSKara Swisher2:17

      He's so far left, he's right. That's what happened with him.

   9. SGScott Galloway2:19

      Well, that's what happens. They meet at-

   10. KSKara Swisher2:20

       He went around the bend.

   11. SGScott Galloway2:20

       They meet at... they come together at crazy.

   12. KSKara Swisher2:22

       Mm-hmm.

   13. SGScott Galloway2:22

       And actually, the anti-vax movement, uh, originated on the far left. You know, don't-

   14. KSKara Swisher2:27

       Oh, it did?

   15. SGScott Galloway2:27

       ... let corporations put-

   16. KSKara Swisher2:29

       Yeah.

   17. SGScott Galloway2:29

       Yeah, don't let corporations put crazy shit into your body. And then the far right picked it up 'cause for some reason, science and experts became associated-

   18. KSKara Swisher2:36

       Right.

   19. SGScott Galloway2:36

       ... with the left.

   20. KSKara Swisher2:37

       Mm-hmm.

5. 2:37 – 3:49

   Vaccines as civilization-level innovation: public-private success that saved lives

   1. SGScott Galloway2:37

      Anyways, so this is... and I would argue, and I think this is... there's real evidence here, that everyone is so fucking fascinated by innovation and chop, metal chopsticks, grabbing a rocket, and photo sharing apps, and GPS, and rightfully so, it creates a lot of economic value. But if you were gonna talk about how we come together as a species-

   2. KSKara Swisher2:58

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SGScott Galloway2:58

      ... and use communication and education and cooperation to accomplish something really incredible, the most positive innovation of the last couple hundred years I would put forward is vaccines. And there is nothing that has come out of our great academic institutions, that's been privatized, that has capitalist, that has capitalist fuel, that also government weighs in and says, "We can distribute these things in low-income areas," that have saved more lives than vaccines. Is it, maybe, is it food distribution? I don't know what it would be, or pesticides maybe? But these are... I mean, in my view, vaccines kind of arguably some of the best things ever. I am so pro-vax. If anyone's holding edibles or vaccines, meet me in the bathroom, and I'm gonna show you that the only thing better than feeling high is not feeling unwell.

6. 3:49 – 4:19

   Kara’s critique: ‘I have questions’ is a cover for anti-vax activism

   1. KSKara Swisher3:49

      He tries to be cute about it and says, "I have questions." And I don't think that's the case. I think he's done more damage. I call him best friend of measles and polio. Um, I think Zeke Emanuel, who's the brother of Ari and, and Rahm, appointing RFK Jr., uh, to the HHS is a big mistake. While I'll admit he has a few important ideas on chronic disease and processed food. I mean, yeah, everybody, we all think processed food sucks. These are overshadowed by his problematic views on vaccines that threaten to walk back major progress we've made. Above all, appointing people like RFK Jr.

7. 4:19 – 5:10

   GLP-1 drugs and the economy: will RFK Jr. dampen Ozempic-era momentum?

   1. KSKara Swisher4:19

      who will bend to Trump's every whim is guaranteed to be truly dangerous. Um, I think he's right. I think that's 100% right. We can agree with some of the things, but this guy is anti-vax. I'm sorry, all you people, he's not questioning it. He's- he's truly anti-vax. And- and try to stop pretending it's otherwise. Um, what do you think of the o- the GLP drugs, the- the- the impact on US economies and global economies? I mentioned drug maker Novo Nordisk and E- Eli Lilly saw shares drop. Are people gonna listen to him here enough to do lasting damage to the industry? Kennedy has been critical of things like Ozempic in the past, calling it a drug that will "Gladden the wallets of Big Pharma execs" and think everyone should rely on eating better produce, I guess? That's the, that's his thing, which I- I think everyone should eat more produce, Robert. But seriously, seriously.

8. 5:10 – 5:40

   Scott’s ‘steelman’ on RFK Jr.: strong diagnosis of the food industrial complex

   1. SGScott Galloway5:10

      Look, uh, uh, the- the really upsetting thing about RFK Jr. is that, in my view, he is so good on a number of issues. He talks about the unholy alliance between the food industrial complex, PepsiCo, General Foods, you know, McDonald's. They want to get you addicted. L- l- let's go med on this. So w- when our species left the Savannah, there was an absence, there was a dearth of sugary, salty, or fatty foods. It was really hard to come across these things. And so when you found them, you gorged. There was an absence of safe free

9. 5:40 – 6:40

   GLP-1s as ‘scaffolding’ for instincts: spillover benefits beyond weight loss

   1. SGScott Galloway5:40

      play because there was always threats everywhere around. There was an absence of mating opportunities. 80% of women on this planet have reproduced, only 40% of men. So when you get industrial production of all of these things, people develop addictions to food, addictions to gambling, addictions to porn. And what GLP-1 has done, as far as I can tell, is it's like scaffolding on our instincts. And it says, "Look, even though you can find more calories than you can consume based on industrial production, almost anyone can eat as much as they want, they can gorge, we're gonna turn off that signal." And people on these drugs report that they're drinking less alcohol, they're biting their nails less. What's even- even more amazing about these things is not only are they eating less shitty food-... the people on these drugs are eating more fruits and vegetables and grains. It's as if this thing is, is actually calibrating what's good for you and what is bad for you. And when you look at the one thing Americans share other than a Netflix subscription and Amazon Prime, it's that we are, 70% of

10. 6:40 – 7:11

    Obesity as the ‘quiet epidemic’: incentives to deny the scale of the crisis

    1. SGScott Galloway6:40

       us are either obese or overweight. And obesity is the COVID, or the, it is the epidemic that kills more people every year than COVID ever did. But because there's so much money involved from large corporations and hospital clinics and knee replacement and kidney dialysis and statins and pharmaceutical and McDonald's, we pretend that you're finding your truth. No, you're not. You're finding fucking diabetes. And he is very good on this issue. And then, all of a sudden, it's like, "Huh? What you wanna..."

11. 7:11 – 8:31

    The breaking point: anti-vax advice to new parents and the Samoa measles backdrop

    1. SGScott Galloway7:11

       This bullshit that he said r- repeatedly, that the best thing you can do when you see a woman with a newborn is go up to her and say, "Don't get her vaccinated." Jesus-

    2. KSKara Swisher7:20

       Yeah.

    3. SGScott Galloway7:20

       ... Christ. Really?

    4. KSKara Swisher7:21

       Do you know her, his, his cousin, uh, Caroline Kennedy, who's US Ambassador to Australia, I didn't know that, um, i- doesn't tend to speak up, said, um, said a lot of negative things about him this week. There's a whole story on it. Um, uh, she goes, "Others are just getting to know him." But she said everything he says, um, I don't think most Americans share them. Uh, he's, uh, you know, he's denied... He's against vaccination, just so you know, styling himself as a vacting, safety activist who questions corporate influence on science. His critics say he's promoted conspiratorial ideas about public health intervention, widely viewed as one of the most important advances. Um, he's embraced a debunked theory on vaccines can cause autism. He's questioned COVID-19 vaccinations. He's also been linked to a meas- been linked to a measles outbreak in Samoa. Um, and, you know, she, she, um, Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, uh, the daughter of JFK and Jackie Onassis obviously, said her family was, "United in terms of our support for public health sector and infrastructure, the greatest admiration for the medical profession." Uh, and Bobby Kennedy has a different set of views. It's very unusual for her to speak out. His whole family says he's as crazy as can be, but, uh-

12. 8:31 – 9:54

    Steroids, HGH, and contradictions: personal health choices vs public-health views

    1. SGScott Galloway8:31

       I just hope he comes clean, and I'm being serious here, about steroid use. Uh-

    2. KSKara Swisher8:35

       Yeah.

    3. SGScott Galloway8:35

       I've seen him without a shirt on.

    4. KSKara Swisher8:37

       Yeah.

    5. SGScott Galloway8:37

       He's 70.

    6. KSKara Swisher8:38

       Looks good.

    7. SGScott Galloway8:38

       That guy's on HGH or some sort of-

    8. KSKara Swisher8:41

       Yeah.

    9. SGScott Galloway8:41

       ... or Deca. He's on some sort... And by the way, I'm not sure. I'd love to hear him defend it and talk about it.

    10. KSKara Swisher8:46

        Yeah.

    11. SGScott Galloway8:47

        But he doesn't want a needle around a vaccine to stave off polio or rubella or measles.

    12. KSKara Swisher8:51

        Just the picture of-

    13. SGScott Galloway8:52

        But he-

    14. KSKara Swisher8:52

        ... McDonald's was perfect.

    15. SGScott Galloway8:54

        But he'll-

    16. KSKara Swisher8:54

        The picture of McDonald's was perfect.

    17. SGScott Galloway8:55

        But he'll inject human growth hormone to look jacked at 70.

    18. KSKara Swisher8:59

        Yeah.

    19. SGScott Galloway8:59

        So I would... And by the way, he might have, he might have... I take creatine, and I f- it's brain protective and heart protective. I'm not... Hormone replacement therapy I think is, uh, uh, they're finding it's a very positive thing for both men and women. A lot of people say that the biggest instance of malpractice was discouraging women from hormone replacement therapy. So I'd love to know his views on it. But just be clear, as someone who works out a lot and is beginning to look like Monty Burns despite every fucking thing I'm trying to do-

    20. KSKara Swisher9:29

        Aha.

    21. SGScott Galloway9:29

        ... that guy is on, is on some form of steroids. And I would just-

    22. KSKara Swisher9:34

        Can you just say allegedly?

    23. SGScott Galloway9:36

        All-

    24. KSKara Swisher9:36

        Just say allegedly there.

    25. SGScott Galloway9:37

        That guy-

    26. KSKara Swisher9:37

        Just saying.

    27. SGScott Galloway9:37

        I mean, I would argue, I would speculate that he-

    28. KSKara Swisher9:40

        Yeah.

    29. SGScott Galloway9:40

        ... he might be, in fact, taking some sort of human grow-

    30. KSKara Swisher9:43

        Yeah.
13. 9:54 – 13:02

    Beyond HHS: cabinet picks, defense stocks, and investor risk from personnel signals

    1. KSKara Swisher9:54

       Why... With him at the McDonald's box, the Big Mac. How the fuck could he do that after he called it poison? Like, what a dumbass. He's just such a dumbass. Anyway, should investors be worried about these, um, Trump cabinet picks impacting markets? The stocks of major defense contractors also dropped last week following Pete Hegseth announcement. God, the Washington Post wrote a story about him, and he looks, he, he, he looks very dangerous as a person. Um, but, um-

    2. SGScott Galloway10:20

       Why do you say that? I'm curious why. I, I mean, I'm asking for an answer, not, not as a comment. What, why do you think he seems dangerous?

    3. KSKara Swisher10:26

       I, I was reading the story. He looks like... Look, this guy, whatever happened in that encounter with this woman, I think he attacked her. This is my, this is my feeling, Pete. Every woman looks at him and goes, "Don't cover your drink when you're around this fella." That's, you know what I mean? That kind of thing. And, uh, between him and Matt Gaetz, I mean, they, they feel like weird sexual aggressors. Um, but, you know, whatever, whatever Pete Hegseth. The fact that he paid off a woman. You know, it's just like Bill O'Reilly, you know, "Oh, I, you know, I just paid her off because..." He did... Then, then there were tapes where he did say the things she said he said, right? So they're just all such weird... This, this whole gang of, of this GOP are all fucking each other down there at Mar-a-Lago. It's weird. It's a weird group of people. I'm sorry. (laughs) Like, you know, there's the rumors of Corey Lewandowski and Kristi Noem. There's the rumors of... Like, they all seem like Caligula down there. I don't know. It just, like, yikes. I find, you know, they talk about liberals being loose. I feel like they're, like, creepy and I don't... They're just... And then the guy who actually grabs someone's, some man's nuts, you know, it's always something. Anyway.

    4. SGScott Galloway11:33

       Yeah. The, the only thing is I would push back a little bit. I think it's unfair to conflate Peter Hegseth, is that his name?

    5. KSKara Swisher11:40

       Hmm. Yeah.

    6. SGScott Galloway11:40

       With Bill O'Reilly-

    7. KSKara Swisher11:41

       Yeah.

    8. SGScott Galloway11:41

       ... where Fox paid some woman 20 or $30 million after-

    9. KSKara Swisher11:44

       Yeah.

    10. SGScott Galloway11:44

        ... supposedly he was forcing her to watch gay porn and then describe it to him. You don't pay someone 20 or $30 million-

    11. KSKara Swisher11:51

        Yeah. I agree.

    12. SGScott Galloway11:51

        ... just to make a nuisance lawsuit go away.

    13. KSKara Swisher11:53

        Yeah.

    14. SGScott Galloway11:53

        Matt Gaetz supposedly has a witness, a credible witness that says she-

    15. KSKara Swisher11:57

        Yeah.

    16. SGScott Galloway11:57

        ... witnessed him having sex with a minor.

    17. KSKara Swisher11:59

        Yes.

    18. SGScott Galloway11:59

        That's pretty serious shit.

    19. KSKara Swisher12:01

        Yes, it is.

    20. SGScott Galloway12:01

        And in the case of, uh, uh, Pete, first off, he served very honorably. He, 20 years, I think two bronze stars. I mean, he really is a decorated service person.

    21. KSKara Swisher12:13

        Got it. He's-

    22. SGScott Galloway12:14

        Hold on, let me finish.

    23. KSKara Swisher12:15

        ... absolutely unqualified for this job.

    24. SGScott Galloway12:16

        Let me finish. I, I, I think he does not have kind of the executive management experience or the gravitas around, uh, that would qualify him to oversee three million people. I agree with you there. He, he is, he did pay somebody off to drop a suit. I don't see... I gotta think that's gonna go away because it doesn't accomplish what it's supposed to. You can see a scenario where someone accuses you of something, something and to make it go away, you just pay them. Let me be clear. I don't think he's qualified for the position, but I do think it's unfair to, to compare him to, um, what Matt Gaetz-

    25. KSKara Swisher12:50

        Oh.

    26. SGScott Galloway12:50

        ... is undergoing or-

    27. KSKara Swisher12:51

        Yeah. Okay. All right.

    28. SGScott Galloway12:52

        Um-

    29. KSKara Swisher12:52

        I mean, the whole gang of them, it's just... Something's happening down there, something in the water. I don't know.

    30. SGScott Galloway12:57

        But what do you... I'm curious. I don't understand. I think I-
14. 13:02 – 13:52

    Gaetz as AG and the ‘strategy’ question: chaos as leverage or pure whim

    1. SGScott Galloway13:02

       Well, I, I think I understand incentives. What is the Machiavellian weird 5D or 0D chess that's going on with putting Gaetz forward as AG?

    2. KSKara Swisher13:13

       Right.

    3. SGScott Galloway13:13

       I don't... Do they think if they-

    4. KSKara Swisher13:15

       Create havoc.

    5. SGScott Galloway13:15

       If they go-

    6. KSKara Swisher13:16

       Havoc.

    7. SGScott Galloway13:16

       If they go, "This guy's..." If they offer a blood offering and Susan Collins-

    8. KSKara Swisher13:20

       Yeah.

    9. SGScott Galloway13:20

       ... and Lisa Murkowski convince some people, and supposedly there's 20 or 30 Republicans who've said, "No fucking way." Then does it make some of their less crazy-

    10. KSKara Swisher13:29

        Yeah.

    11. SGScott Galloway13:29

        ... but still grade A crazy picks more likely to get through? What, what's the, what's the strategy here?

    12. KSKara Swisher13:34

        I think so, unless there isn't one. He just feels like it. He was on the plane at the last minute and did... He had another person for AG and then suddenly it was Matt Gaetz, you know. I think sometimes it's just, like, his whim at the moment. He just wants to do what he wants to do.

Episode duration: 13:53