HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo pushed COVID-19 conspiracy theories and praised white supremacists in unearthed podcast – Media Matters for America

In a podcast unearthed by Media Matters, Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo spread baseless conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, praised white supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos, and said Democrats are counting on COVID-19 fatalities in order to win the election against President Donald Trump.

On his now-defunct show Still Standing with Michael Caputo, the current HHS spokesperson pushed the debunked conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was invented in a bioweapons facility in Wuhan, used racist terms to refer to the virus, and said Democrats are calculating how long they can actually keep the coronavirus concern ball in the air in order to win the election. He also praised various white supremacist and alt-right personalities, including neo-Nazi Milo Yiannopoulos and Pizzagate conspiracy theorists and alt-right Twitter personalities Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec. On his podcast, Caputo also pushed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about billionaire progressive donor George Soros paying anti-Trump protesters and other conspiracy theories about Democrats, the media, and the Mueller investigation.

CNN previously reported on racist and sexist now-deleted tweets from Caputo.

Caputo was thrust into the national spotlight when then-special counsel Robert Mueller looked into his involvement in the Trump 2016 campaign during his investigation. He spread conspiracy theories about the investigation on Twitter, and in the clips unearthed by Media Matters, he said hes not right after going through the Mueller investigation and can barely breathe because of his anger.

A longtime friend of Stone, Caputo was at the forefront of the campaign to get Stone a presidential pardon. HHS Secretary Alex Azar appointed Caputo to his position as an HHS spokesperson in April 2020, putting a vocal defender of President Donald Trump in a key messaging role, according to CNN.

Two of the most important agencies under HHS tasked with fighting the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have recently come under fire for the perception that the apolitical agencies are being influenced by political pressure from the Trump White House. Controversial FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told the HHS spokesman his position is well deserved during an interview on the podcast that Caputo currently hosts for the department.

Caputo at present represents a department that includes science-driven research and regulatory bodies, all of which require trust from the public at large. His history as a Trump loyalist, an ally of white supremacists, and a conspiracy theory enthusiast all raise questions as to whether the HHS has appropriate personnel in place to respond to the global pandemic.