Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis praised President-elect Trump for nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In a lengthy social media post on Thursday, Polis praised Kennedy for helping Colorado “defeat vaccine mandates” in 2019 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA,” he wrote. 

“I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates) but what I’m most optimistic about is taking on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health,” Polis said.

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Trump announced his nomination of RFK Jr. for HHS secretary Thursday afternoon, igniting a firestorm of praise and critique.

In his announcement, Trump promised that, with Kennedy leading the HHS, the agency would be restored as the “Gold Standard Scientific Research.”

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump wrote. “Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Kennedy launched his presidential campaign as a Democrat and then eventually endorsed Trump. 

Kennedy also spoke during Trump’s historic Madison Square Garden rally last month, where he unleashed on the current state of the Democratic Party.

“The Democratic Party is the party of war. It’s the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris giving a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neocons. It was belligerent, pugnacious. It talked about domination of the world by the United States through our weapons of war. It’s the party today that wants to divide Americans. It’s a party that is dismantling women’s sports by letting men play women’s sports,” he said. 

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“It’s the party of Wall Street. It’s the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It’s the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud that it received the endorsement of 50 former CIA agents and officers and of John Bolton and of Dick Cheney.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced ‘No Spoiler’ pledge for the upcoming elections at a campaign stop. RFK Jr. announced that only he could defeat Donald Trump in the general election in November and demanded that President Joe Biden step aside.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time Kennedy was considered for a Cabinet position for a presidential administration. Back in 2008, then President-elect Obama reportedly strongly considered naming Kennedy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Politico reported at the time. 

Polis has been critical of a Trump presidency. He recently joined forces with Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker to co-chair a new coalition called Governors Safeguarding Democracy.

The website names “fast-moving disinformation campaigns” and “cyberthreats” as examples of “threats to our democracy.”

“Donald Trump is going to bring people into his administration who are absolute loyalists to his cult of personality and not necessarily to the law,” Pritzker said, according to the New York Times. “Last time, he didn’t really know where the levers of government were. I think he probably does now. And so I think that the threat remains great.”

Left: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks to members of the media in the spin room following the first vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024; Right: Ill. Gov. J. B. Pritzker attends the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on Sept. 24, 2024 in New York City.  (Left: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: John Nacion/Getty Images;)

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Polis said of Trump, “we’re gonna work with him and his administration however we can for our state.” 

Polis echoed his sentiments, writing on X that he looks forward to “partnering with him to truly make America healthy again.”

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“He will face strong special interest opposition on these, but I look forward to partnering with him to truly make America healthy again,” Polis added. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office has charged a Colorado School of Mines professor with vehicular homicide in the death of Golden Police Officer Evan Dunn.

Stephen Geer, 43, was arrested at the scene Nov. 6 after he reportedly drove into the scene of a traffic accident along Highway 58, striking four people.

Dunn, whose funeral was Nov. 13, died at the scene. GPD Officer Bethany Grusing was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, but city officials have confirmed she’s been released and is recovering. Two civilians also sustained injuries, according to police reports, but their statuses were unknown.

Geer appeared out of custody at the Jefferson County Courthouse for a Nov. 14 hearing, where the DA’s Office formally filed five charges against him.

Along with vehicular homicide, a Class 3 felony, the DA’s Office also charged Geer with:

• Two counts of vehicular assault, a Class 4 felony, for injuring Grusing and a civilian;
• One count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for injuring the other civilian;
• One count of driving under the influence, a misdemeanor.

Geer and his attorney have waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days.

He’s next scheduled for a review hearing at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 11 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

On Nov. 7, Colorado School of Mines confirmed Geer as an employee. The university website lists him as a teaching assistant professor in mechanical engineering.

Mines officials shared that they grieve for the impacted Golden officers, their families, colleagues and community.

“We pray for the recovery of the injured officer,” Mines officials stated via email Nov. 7, “and we will look for ways to offer support during this incredibly difficult time.”

The Nov. 6 incident

According to the arrest affidavit filed against Geer, around 4:38 p.m. Nov. 6, Golden police officers responded to eastbound Highway 58 just east of Washington Avenue. They were investigating a crash between a Toyota Tacoma and a Subaru Crosstrek.

Amid slick and snowy conditions, the Toyota had reportedly lost control while the Subaru was trying to pass, hitting it, and both vehicles were now disabled near the median.

All involved vehicles were on the far-left side of Highway 58, according to the affidavit, with a Golden Police vehicle positioned behind the other two. All other traffic was moving to the right, away from the original crash scene.

The Subaru’s driver, the Toyota’s driver and her father, Dunn and Grusing were outside the vehicles getting photos and evaluating the scene around 4:53 p.m. when a black Mazda traveling eastbound entered the area.

The Mazda reportedly hit the Toyota and then the Subaru, pinning Dunn under the latter. He died from his injuries at the scene.

According to the affidavit, Grusing and the Toyota’s driver also sustained serious injuries, with the latter suffering a skull fracture and brain bleed. Her father, who was thrown over the jersey barrier, also sustained a large laceration to his head and elbow, the affidavit describes.

The Subaru’s driver was uninjured, as was a third GPD officer who was in the patrol vehicle behind the initial accident scene.

Shortly after the crash, authorities identified Geer as the Mazda’s driver. He reportedly told state troopers at the scene he’d been driving home after having a beer at a local bar with a coworker.

He told troopers he’d noticed “yellow flashing lights and attempted to stop,” but wasn’t able to, the affidavit describes.

Investigators detected alcohol on Geer’s breath, the affidavit continues, and he initially agreed to voluntary roadside sobriety tests. However, after he was informed of his Miranda rights around 6:06 p.m., he refused to talk further or complete the sobriety tests.

After receiving a search warrant, investigating troopers completed a blood draw around 8:46 p.m. at the Jeffco jail, the affidavit continues.

It also states that Geer has no previous criminal history.

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Anthony Mackie wants to get something off his chest before answering any questions.

“That Meow (Wolf Denver) museum is the craziest (stuff) I’ve ever seen in my life,” said the 46-year-old actor, unprompted, referring to the surreal installation just west of downtown.

That’s saying something, given Mackie’s career as an action hero and low-key heartthrob. As a veteran of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s finally making his film debut as the new Captain America in Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” on Feb. 14, 2025 — following the groundwork laid by his 2021 Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”

More recently, Mackie’s been battling monsters in the post-apocalyptic thriller “Elevation,” which was shot mostly in Boulder and Golden and is in theaters now. He plays Will, a father desperate to find medical supplies for his ailing son. That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.

That danger zone? Boulder — which is rendered as an empty town just starting to be reclaimed by nature, following the disaster that violently erased most of the human race. The film co-stars Morena Baccarin (in arguably one of her best roles) as disillusioned scientist Nina, and Maddie Hasson as salty young traveler Katie. Together, they navigate abandoned tunnels, an empty hospital and other spooky locales while taking center-frame in gorgeous drone shots of Colorado’s piney expanses.

“I was surprised at the level of chill of everybody in Boulder. Maybe they were all high? But a lot of them weren’t,” Mackie said. “Except for that one old lady in the gym. You know who you are, and you’re mean.”

Mackie likes to do superset workouts, he said, so he would do a heavy press with a medium fly, for example, without taking breaks between machines. Mackie’s elderly nemesis, who stared him down throughout his workouts, copied everything he did.

“So I’m like, ‘Fine, I’m just going to do some rows and pull-ups.’ And she comes around and is like, ‘You can’t even do a pull-up!’ ” he said with a laugh. “And I’d have my headphones in, and she’d be like, ‘Excuse me, no phone in the gym.’ I was about ready to fly my sister in to fight this girl and go Liam Neeson on her.”

He jests, but he took his promo duties for “Elevation” seriously. Mackie and “Elevation” director George Nolfi (“The Adjustment Bureau,” “Spectral”) visited the Denver Film Festival on Nov. 4 to screen and talk about the movie. Mackie even made it up to visit with buddy Deion Sanders in Boulder, hosting a screening for Coach Prime, the University of Colorado Boulder football team, and Super Bowl champ Warren Sapp — as well as a separate Boulder cast-and-crew screening, followed by the Denver Film Fest visit. Phew.

“I did go to a lot of University of Colorado football games while we were shooting,” Mackie said. “But (Sanders) had told me Boulder was like the Atlanta of the West Coast. I must have missed it by two months! When I was in Boulder I was the only Black dude there. Kiss my (butt), Deion Sanders.”

Mackie’s first few weeks of filming in Colorado in late 2022 were challenging in a different way. As a New Orleans resident, he went from sea level to elevations of up to 11,000 feet, he said. He and his stunt man would jog together every day, and go hiking every third day in the Flatirons.

“It was painful coming back from Colorado to New Orleans because the air is so heavy and I was so opened up,” he said. “I felt like I was taking in so much water with my breathing.”

He loved Colorado, but doesn’t miss Boulder much, dubbing it an isolating place that’s “myopic” in its approach to communal dwelling and living in general. The isolation helped with his performance in “Elevation,” he said, since his character Will goes through the same feelings.

“I’ll tell you what I learned in Colorado,” Mackie said. “I thought there would be good fishing, beautiful countryside, all of that. And I was right. The fly fishing was amazing, I got a lot of brookies (trout), but I didn’t go hunting, which I was mad about. Next time I’m coming back hard.”