this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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"Before Dr. Brian Christine was tapped to lead America’s public hantavirus response, he was an Alabama-based urologist who specialized in penile implants, CNN reported Friday.

Christine currently serves as the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and as such is one of the top public health officials running the country’s infectious disease policy. Earlier this week, he told reporters in Nebraska that the agency’s response to the dangerous outbreak would be “grounded in science” and “grounded in transparency.”

Yet Christine’s resume seems far and away from that of a typical U.S. health official. While he has some public health experience under his belt, having served as a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, he has also espoused dangerous far-right beliefs and spread wellness conspiracy theories.

He rebuked coronavirus mandates and spread conspiracy theories about treatment plans that sowed doubt and division over the government’s public health response at the time. He has claimed that the pandemic was a part of a wider government plot to control people, and he skirted questions from the U.S. Senate as to whether or not he would recommend the Covid vaccine to his patients.

The 62-year-old admiral also hosted a YouTube series titled “Erection Connection,” a professional show for other urologists discussing erectile dysfunction..."

top 22 comments
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[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

The right person to prevent it from getting out-of-hand.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 6 points 2 hours ago

Trump likes to assign such jobs to people he knows. Go figure.

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 hours ago

On the other hand, maybe we'll all die of hantavirus before having to suffer through the rest of the fascist takeover

[–] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 17 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I wonder how they know each other.
Does anyone have a clue?

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

Did they say it was his personal penile impaler? Penis impostor? Dick driver?

Let's start some rumors y'all. Liberal application of fiction.

[–] Infinite@lemmy.zip 12 points 5 hours ago

So they actually think it's hentaivirus?

[–] Asafum@lemmy.world 35 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

That is one hell of a way of telling us to get fucked. Takes a bit of thought to get there, 4/10 joke.

Next up: Ivermectin and penis enlargement prevents hantavirus!

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 15 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Probably Trump personally doctor. We all know Trump has a small Dick.

[–] mr_account@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago

What he lacks physically, he makes up for figuratively in all other aspects of his miserable, tragically-long life

[–] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 12 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

On the one hand urology and ED are important specialisms, and it's annoying seeing them mocked. He also actually has experience in public health which makes him more qualified than most trump appointees.

On the other hand, outside of that his record is, for want of a better term, "yikes".

[–] totesmygoat@piefed.ca 3 points 2 hours ago

If he was Elons surgeon.... Looks like he's about to continue to screw things up.

[–] Darthcapi@lemmy.ml 15 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

Why can’t we just have nice things?

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 hours ago

You know why.

[–] Asafum@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

Because there are too many greedy people with exploded egos that have the highest propensity to do whatever it takes to hold positions of power, meanwhile "good" people rarely seek, or are capable of obtaining, positions of power.

:(

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Because ~40% of our voter base HATES nice things and consistently votes to hurt and punish nice things. And, worst of all, those people are concentrated in low-population states, which our profoundly stupid electoral system gives far more representation to.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

That is a very incomplete Take. As if the Democrats were blameless. To make that argument after to say nothing before them, Clinton, obama, clinton, biden, then Harris without even a contest with 4 months to go.

The fact of the matter, all major parties in all Western Nations have been seized by the oligarchy. The only answer is to take one of those parties back and run a populist campaign, to make and run a political machine. But that's not in the cards because you (collective, not you neccessarily,) mother fuckers trust these fake leftists to run the opposition.

[–] Darthcapi@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I would love to see a bunch of parties...especially far left parties with a legit shot at the white house. that being said, as inept as the democrats are non of them have been trump by any stretch.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago

Forget left and right, we're talking about popular and unpopular, and the Democrats are not popular, and they're not trying to be popular, in a system that elects People based on popularity. Otherwise known as populism, which they consider the greatest of all evils.

Associating it with fake populism on the right that blames scapegoats for the real villains. That is why they suck.

Stop covering for them and help us get candidates that can win and can improve our situation because we are on the path to fucking ruin in case you haven't realized that.

[–] agingelderly@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

He rebuked coronavirus mandates and spread conspiracy theories about treatment plans that sowed doubt and division over the government’s public health response at the time. He has claimed that the pandemic was a part of a wider government plot to control people, and he skirted questions from the U.S. Senate as to whether or not he would recommend the Covid vaccine to his patients.

Boom he's a piece of shit. Get him out. This moron shouldn't be anywhere near a medical decision.

[–] JamieDub86@piefed.social 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Trump or the guy that can make your knob bigger?

Interestingly, theres a left wong politician in the UK who the right call "the tit whisperer" cause they misunderstood something he said.

[–] Zirconium@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

I'd rather be a tit whisperer than a dick enhancer

[–] Murse@slrpnk.net 2 points 6 hours ago

Got tired of getting penises up, so he switched to getting infection rates up instead.