Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a new video on X on Monday, August 17, standing alongside actor Dennis Quaid, in which he outlined a fresh government plan.
Within hours, the 72-year-old Kennedy had become a trending topic across social media platforms.
Yet, nearly all of the responses focused on the messenger rather than the policy being announced.
In the clip, Kennedy asserted that the administration is “taking bold new actions against Lyme disease, Alpha-gal syndrome, and other tick-borne diseases,” promising quicker research, improved patient care, and new treatments.
He noted that HHS is pouring millions into AI tools designed to detect the illness early. He also credited a public-private partnership named LymeX with bringing two improved, FDA-cleared Lyme tests to the market.
Quaid, for his part, leaned into a more personal angle. He spoke about his friend Kris Kristofferson, the country singer who spent years in treatment for Alzheimer’s disease before his passing in 2024.
‘What a Thing to Say’: Dennis Quaid’s Over-the-Top Trump Praise Triggers Immediate Backlash as Critics Accuse Him of Leaning Fully Into MAGA and Risking More Than He Realizes
“But Alzheimer’s wasn’t the problem,” Quaid said. “He actually had Lyme disease, and when the doctors finally diagnosed him correctly in 2016 and started the right treatment, his symptoms did improve.”
Quaid closed on a hopeful note, saying, “Together, we can advance science, improve care and give more patients the answers they deserve.”
However, social media’s response was unsparing. Viewers were not focused on the science; they wanted to know how an actor ended up delivering a government health message in the first place.
“What does bro even do,” one person tweeted. Another was harsher: “What does Dennis Quaid know about this? Really nothing more than most people. Probably less,” he wrote.
A separate user demanded specifics, asking, “Why Dennis Quaid? Exactly what expertise does he have?” Another needed only three words, posting, “Why Dennis Quaid?”
Meanwhile, others treated it as a test of political consistency.
“Hey maga, where’s your outrage?!” one woman wrote. “Here’s an ACTOR giving medical advice. You guys hate actors being political, right?! Are you going to cancel Dennis Quaid now?!”
One commenter supported the cause while rejecting the messenger, arguing that tick-borne diseases genuinely need more funding, “but these 2 bozos aren’t the solution.” Another summed up the mood in a single line: “Taking health advice from Dennis Quaid now.”
Despite the public confusion over Quaid’s role in educating the nation about Lyme disease, One America News Network described him as a patient advocate who has said a tick bite left him dealing with Lyme disease himself. It’s also worth noting that Quaid has spoken out about patient safety for nearly two decades, following a 2007 incident in which his newborn twins were given a massive drug overdose at a Los Angeles hospital.
Roughly 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme each year, according to CDC figures. HHS says up to 20 percent still experience symptoms long after treatment ends. During a press conference in Concord, New Hampshire in May, Kennedy announced a CDC tick-control pilot program, up to $2.5 million in LymeX innovation prizes and new NIH funding.
Meanwhile, Quaid has spent the past year as one of Hollywood’s most vocal Trump supporters… and that history colored how Monday’s video landed.
On evangelical pastor Greg Laurie’s podcast in February, he described Trump as “surprisingly approachable and very funny” and “really genuine.” Quaid went so far as to say that “he wouldn’t be president if he wasn’t genuine.” Those comments drew their own wave of criticism. Weeks later, Quaid flew on Air Force One to a Trump speech in Corpus Christi, Texas. There, he told the crowd, “I love Corpus Christi and I love Donald Trump,” per AOL.
His former “Any Given Sunday” co-star Lauren Holly responded on Threads with a reference to their onscreen slap scene, writing, “At least I got to slap him real hard.”
Neither Quaid nor HHS has addressed the criticism.
View on Threads
