At his rally on Sunday at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stated that if elected, he would give free rein to wellness conspiracist and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to shape health policies. Kennedy, a former Democrat and member of the prominent political family, initially ran as an independent third-party candidate and has spent the past two decades spreading conspiracy theories that could potentially influence a Trump administration’s policies.
In August, Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and threw his support behind Trump, with both campaigns receiving backing from billionaire donor Timothy Mellon. There were indications that Kennedy could have a role in a Trump administration, particularly in the health sector. Kennedy even created a spinoff of Trump’s MAGA slogan with his own “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA). Trump’s recent speech suggests that Kennedy would indeed have a place in the cabinet, possibly as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy has been actively campaigning for Trump alongside another former Democrat and conspiracy theorist, Tulsi Gabbard. He has a long history of spreading health misinformation and disinformation, particularly about vaccines. In 2014, Kennedy joined Children’s Health Defense (CHD) as a board member. CHD promotes debunked conspiracy theories linking conditions like autism to vaccines and other environmental factors. In 2021, Kennedy’s Instagram account was banned by Meta for spreading disinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine. He was also named by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) as one of the top 12 people responsible for 65% of vaccine disinformation on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Kennedy’s profile, as well as that of CHD, has risen due to the Covid-19 pandemic. CHD raised more funds in 2021 than ever before, while Meta continues to ban CHD from its platforms. Recently, Kennedy has also echoed baseless conspiracies that could undermine trust in the integrity of the 2024 elections.
During his presidential campaign, Kennedy attempted to distance himself from the anti-vax movement, but he continued to spread disinformation, such as falsely claiming that the Biden administration violated the Nuremberg Code by mandating vaccines. His vision for making America healthy again is extreme, as seen in his recent post on X, where he warned the FDA that its “aggressive suppression” of various treatments, including psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine, would soon come to an end.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 13 agencies, including the FDA, and Kennedy’s potential appointment as its head raises concerns about the future of public health in the US.
