Matteo Bassetti, a renowned Italian doctor, criticized Donald Trump and his Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr). On social media, he praised the Italian medical care received by injured American ski racer Lindsey Vonn after she crashed out of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Bassetti, who is the head of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at Policlinico San Martino University Hospital in Genoa, wished a speedy recovery to Vonn on Instagram after the ski racer returned to the United States. Then, he went on to take a swipe at Trump and HHS Secretary RFK Jr.
Desidero formulare i migliori auguri di pronta guarigione a #LindseyVonn che ora tornerà a casa sua negli Stati Uniti.
La Vonn ha potuto apprezzare lo straordinario sistema sanitario pubblico italiano che si è presa cura di lei con tre interventi chirurgici. In Italia, a… pic.twitter.com/oGEHy8x1Ve
— Matteo Bassetti (@ProfMBassetti) February 17, 2026
“Vonn was able to appreciate Italy’s extraordinary public healthcare system, which took care of her with three surgical procedures,” the former Yale University School of Medicine scholar wrote. “In Italy, unlike in her country, we take care of everyone: rich or poor, VIPs or nobodies, Americans or Italians. If she gets the chance, she should explain to Trump and Kennedy Jr. what it means to take care of those who are ill,” Bassetti added.
The doctor also shared pictures of Lindsey Vonn receiving treatment in a hospital in Italy. Vonn is now back in the U.S., been ‘immobile’ since the Olympic crash, as The New York Times reports. While many of Bassetti’s 396,000 followers agreed with him, some also criticized his comments. Following the backlash, Bassetti made another post to clarify what he actually meant.
He explained that he “didn’t write that in America they only treat those who have money.” But what he actually meant was that “in Italy we treat everyone, unlike in the USA, thanks to our extraordinary national health system.”
The doctor explained, “Even if you have nothing and have no insurance policy whatsoever, not only do you get treated in an emergency, but also for elective procedures.” He continued, “I worked in the USA and I know very well, because I saw it with my own eyes, that certain surgical procedures and certain therapies (including those for HIV and cancer) are not performed or provided if you are not insured.”
Tornando alla #Vonn, non ho scritto che in America curano solo chi ha i soldi. Ho scritto (ed è cosa ben diversa) che in Italia curiamo tutti a differenza che negli USA, grazie al nostro straordinario sistema sanitario nazionale. Se anche non hai nulla e non hai alcuna polizza…
— Matteo Bassetti (@ProfMBassetti) February 18, 2026
This is not the first time Matteo Bassetti has taken a dig at the American healthcare system. Earlier this week, he criticized the anti-vaccine belief held by many in the country, including RFK Jr. and Trump. Bassetti wrote that “thanks to the #antivax thinking of those who govern it,” America has turned into a “Measles Country.”
He added,
“If we were an advanced country (…), we would require Americans to be vaccinated before entering Italy.”
In 2024, Bassetti called out Joe Biden for not wearing a mask after testing positive for COVID-19.
