'Pretty Sh*tty': Doctor Says LA Times Disingenuously Spun His RFK Jr. Op-Ed

A public health expert on Friday accused the Los Angeles Times—whose billionaire owner recently sparked controversy for restricting editorials critical of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump—of distorting a highly critical opinion piece he authored in order to paint Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a positive light.

Dr. Eric Reinhart, a political anthropologist and psychoanalytic clinician, said his piece, which the Times published on Wednesday, was originally titled, "RFK Jr.'s Wrecking Ball Won't Fix Public Health." However, Times editors ran the article under the title, "Trump's Healthcare Disruption Could Pay Off—If He Pushes Real Reform."

"My first time working with the Los Angeles Times, and I expect also my last," Reinhart said on social media Friday. "A vote for RFK Jr. is a vote for nothing but chaos, the opposite of the essential public-systems building I argue for in the op-ed, and mass death."

"Editors edit and control final copy and [headline], I get that," Reinhart added. "But editing out a very central and timely point in the minutes before sending to press while then also assigning a title and image that suggest an argument entirely opposite to the author's clear intent is bad."

As The New Republic's Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling reported Friday:

The original and final versions of Reinhart's article differ drastically in message. The first paragraph of the published opinion piece takes an optimistic tone about Kennedy's role in the Trump administration, suggesting that the virulent conspiracy theorist could be an answer and solution to the American public's bubbling resentment toward the healthcare industry.

Writing Friday on the social media platform Bluesky, Reinhart—who called the Times editors' actions "pretty shitty"—said his draft does "not leave my stance on RFK Jr. remotely ambiguous."

"He's dangerously ignorant, egomaniacal, and effectively a mass murderer in waiting," the doctor added. "He has no business being anywhere near HHS."

Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, who has owned the Times since 2018, prompted a wave of staff resignations and reader subscription cancellations following his issuance last month of an internal memo asking the members of the newspaper's board and opinion writers to "take a break from writing about Trump."

This, after Soon-Shiong blocked its editorial board from endorsing former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a decision he claimed was based partly on a desire for more balance in the Times opinion section and partly on Harris' complicity in the U.S.-backed Israeli annihilation of Gaza.

Earlier this week, Soon-Shiong wrote on social media: "I had not met Bobby Kennedy until a few months ago. The more I got to know him I truly believe he has the American public's best interests at heart. I have worried about toxins and the cause of cancer my entire career. As a physician-scientist I really hope he is confirmed" as health and human services secretary.

In a statement published Friday by Politico, Times vice president of communications Hillary Manning said that "our editors in opinion work with op-ed contributors to edit pieces for length, clarity, and accuracy, among other things," and that "no op-ed pieces are published, as edited, without the permission of the author. That includes the op-ed written by Eric Reinhart."

Reinhart retorted by saying, "What makes it concerning to me is the background of the owner's politics and known record of interference and editorial processes of the newspaper."

He added, "The depressing public health issue that was unfolding just as the op-ed was published... is, 'Are we or are we not going to confirm RFK Jr. for this incredibly important position for which he is massively and dangerously underqualified?'"