Alex Berenson vs. Dr. Malone

Thoughts on the Fox News video that shocked Alex's community of followers

I'm assuming by now most of you heard what Alex said to Dr. Malone in an interview last night on Fox News - comments that led to outrage from both of their followers.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's the video. (It should start around the 21 minute mark.)

Dr. Malone quickly responded on his Substack, calling it a low blow.

In flew a flurry of responses on Dr. Malone's post and on an unrelated post of Alex's.

People were very, very upset.

As of this moment, to my knowledge, Alex hasn't (publicly) responded.

Here's my take.

I agree that it was a low blow.

Very low.

And that it was clearly planned.

It wasn’t the topic of discussion, and it made it look as though Alex had been waiting for this moment and seized it.

Why (WHY?) did he do that?

Ironically, an interview that Alex just did with RFK Jr. gives us a little insight. (Full disclosure: I haven’t listened to the entire RFK Jr. interview yet. But there are some gems, so far, in the beginning.)

RFK Jr. opened by introducing Alex and how “he became a hero to many of us” in the past two years.

That's true. It's also true that advancing to hero status is always a double-edged sword.

Whenever anyone becomes a hero, opportunities abound for the hero to become “inflated.”

I’m not saying that was what happened, but it’s something to keep in mind.

RFK Jr. continued, describing Alex as “a prickly character and something of a young curmudgeon.”

Alex responded by saying he didn't know if he was a curmudgeon but that he doesn't like to “get pushed around.”

So Alex is, in personality terms, ‘disagreeable.’

That makes sense. It's why, early on in the pandemic, he was virtually the only one willing to step outside the narrative and say what no one else was saying.

And why he continues to do the work he does even though he has lost friends and has been kicked out of many elite circles.

RFK Jr. and Alex then had a brief moment of discussion regarding how they have been attacked for their work.

“You have to find peace inside,” RFK Jr. said. “…I think you need a spiritual place to go; otherwise, it’s hard to take.”

Alex responded, “That’s an interesting way to-I mean-I just feel like I just am chasing the truth. Like, that’s my spiritual place. Just trying, you know, just trying to find out what the data is saying. Maybe that’s not good enough in the long run, but that’s what I have now.”

Chasing the truth.

Well yes, that’s part of the equation. But in my opinion, no; it's not enough.

To me, the secret to life is following truth and embracing beauty.

You have to do both.

If you chase the truth, you will be on the right path. But at what pace should you travel on that path?

That’s where beauty comes in.

Seeing Dr. Malone and Alex Berenson together on national television, being given the opportunity to respond to an attack on censorship, was a beautiful thing.

And Alex missed that.

If he wanted to make sure that people knew his appearance with Dr. Malone wasn’t an indication that they were in total agreement, fine. Simply say, “Dr. Malone and I don’t agree on everything, but we do agree that censorship is wrong.”

Opening instead with that simple statement would’ve been truthful but also would not have tainted the beautiful opportunity they were given.

Perhaps Alex's silo of truth stance is why RFK Jr. called him a young curmudgeon.

Curmudgeons acknowledge the truth that kids will ruin their lawn by running around on it, thus yelling, Get off my lawn!

They don't stop and appreciate the beauty of children laughing and playing outside their window.

Alex’s inability to see (or at least to acknowledge) the beauty of the moment is part of the problem.

But it's not the only reason for the outrage.

There was much talk amongst Alex’s followers of how he was wrong in his statements regarding Dr. Malone's relationship with mRNA development and his claims about the effectiveness of Ivermectin.

Even if Alex was correct on both of these points (I’m not saying he is), I think the bone of contention actually lies elsewhere.

It’s that Alex - who claims to be all about truth - wasn’t truthful with his very appearance on the show.

He was not invited on to express his beliefs about Dr. Malone.

And he knew that.

But he didn’t tell the producers what his plans were. He allowed them to believe he came on merely to discuss censorship. And then he brought up something else entirely.

We know this because Dr. Malone indicated that the producers apologized to him about it and were blindsided themselves.

And the host (Raymond Arroyo) called Alex out for what he said and had to pivot the discussion because of it.

If Alex and Dr. Malone had been invited on to discuss these disagreements, there wouldn’t be this outrage. People would still have their opinions regarding whether or not Alex is correct in his assertions, but that would be all.

It was Alex's dishonesty in how he used his airtime, blindsiding everyone - Dr. Malone, the host, the producers, and the audience - that set everyone off.

We all have moments of bad judgment (me included), and I can forgive this one of Alex's.

But I hope this “hero” can remember his roots, rediscover humility, and listen to those of us who see the truth that he seems to be missing.

And Alex, perhaps you’re right. Perhaps it isn’t enough in the long run to just chase the truth, running over whoever gets in the way of your pursuit. There is beauty all around you if you’ll slow down long enough to see it.

After all, what’s the point of trying to spread the truth you so fervently seek if it doesn’t make for a more beautiful world in the end?