Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary appeared on CNBC on Wednesday, where host Joe Kernen asked him about Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s announcement on greenhouse gases. Zeldin stated that the Trump administration will rescind the 2009 scientific findings on the harmful effects of greenhouse gases on human health.

That led to this infuriating exchange:

Kernen: They’re going to do this. Is that a danger to public health? If the EPA and Lee Zeldin are able to do this, in your view?

Makary: You know, to be honest, I don’t know enough about that issue. 

Kernen: You’re in charge of our public health. Can you look into it for us?

Makary: So it’s really an EPA issue. But look, there’s a lot of things where we may just need better research. We have never talked about environmental exposures that may, say, cause cancer. We only talk about the chemo to treat it.

So much dumb in a minute. 

Makary came to prominence as one of the ignoramouses who offered loud criticisms of COVID-19 mandates and skepticism over the deadliness of the pandemic, and he appears to be less of a public health expert and more an expert in public misinformation.

His claim that “we have never talked about environmental exposures that may, say, cause cancer,” is so absurd, it is difficult to even grasp the lie he’s promoting. The official EPA website devotes a significant part of its mission to identifying cancer-causing agents. The FDA has similarly worked for decades in this area—while also being responsible for approving treatments for cancer patients.

In May, Zeldin announced the administration’s plans to rescind rules that limited “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The chemicals in question have been linked to cancers, reproductive and neurological problems, and low birth weights. 

But I’m sure Makary doesn’t “know enough about that issue,” either.