How controversial is Trump’s choice of RFK Jr as US health secretary? | Donald Trump News
On Thursday, US President-elect Donald Trump nominated anti-vaccinationist Robert F Kennedy Jr to run the top health agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.
“I am very pleased to announce Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States [HHS],” Trump wrote Thursday on the social networking site, Truth Social.
Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr?
Kennedy, 70, also known as RFK Jr, is an environmental advocate and a member of the American Kennedy political family.
He is the son of US Senator and Attorney General Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of John F Kennedy, who was US president between 1961 and 1963, when he was assassinated.
He is known to have a neurological disorder that affects his voice, and American media reported that he blamed it on a flu vaccine he received.
Kennedy ran for this year’s election, starting as a Democrat. After failing to get elected from the party, he ran as an independent. At the end of August, he dropped his bid for the presidency to support Trump for office.
Kennedy’s appointment as secretary of health and human services in the next Trump administration is not surprising. Even before his election, Trump, during his meetings, praised Kennedy as someone who “cares more about people, health and the environment than anyone”.
The president-elect told a New York City meeting on October 27 that he would let Kennedy “strike” on health, food and medicine.
Kennedy coined the slogan “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA).
What does the US Department of Health and Human Services do?
The department oversees all federal health matters in the US.
It oversees the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the major Medicare and Medicaid Services programs, which provide health care to low-income, low-income people. 65 and older, and people with disabilities.
Where does Kennedy stand on health issues?
Kennedy has become controversial because of his stance on many issues. This includes:
Goals
Kennedy has long been skeptical of policies. He is the chairman of the non-profit activist group Children’s Health Defense, which widely disseminates information about vaccines.
He also tried to sell the conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism in children. One of these was during an interview with Joe Scarborough in 2005 on the US news channel MSNBC.
He repeated this idea in a 2023 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The idea that vaccines cause autism has been disproved by a number of scientific studies.
NBC News reported that Kennedy believes the flu shot caused him to develop a rare neurological disorder that affected his voice.
However, he denies being “anti-vaxxer” and told NBC News the day after Trump’s victory that he would not “take vaccines for anybody”.
Fluoride in water
According to the CDC website, most US communities have small amounts of fluoride added to their tap water to prevent cavities and improve oral health. Water fluoridation is a CDC recommendation.
On November 4, Kennedy rallied against water fluoridation in a social media post. Trump said the idea “sounds right” to him.
Fluoride is an industrial waste linked to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy wrote.
A federal review published by the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in August concluded that high levels of fluoride are indeed linked to lower IQ in children.
At the end of September this year, District Judge Edward Chen ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue controlling the flow of water as it may affect the mental development of children.
He cautioned that it is not certain whether the current amount of fluoride in water is causing IQ loss in children.
Scientific experts say that more research is needed to reach a reasonable conclusion on this matter.
According to the CDC, no evidence has been found that fluoride can affect other health conditions, such as causing birth defects or cancer.
Food and Drug Administration
Kennedy has been a vocal critic of the FDA, which oversees nearly $3 billion in pharmaceutical, food and tobacco products. In interviews and on social media, Kennedy accused the agency’s employees of being motivated by companies and “doing what Big Pharma and Big Food want, reports Reuters.”
In October of this year, Kennedy wrote in the X post: “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Keep your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
The FDA’s war on public health is almost over. These include its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapy, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean eating, sunlight, exercise , nutrition and anything…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024
COVID 19
Kennedy opposes the federal shutdown that was imposed after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the US. The restrictions, which see people confined to their homes and restrictions on who they can meet in person, were put in place to stop the spread of the virus.
He also promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as an antidote to the virus, which has been dismissed as an effective treatment.
Additionally, in July 2023, the New York Post uploaded a video in which Kennedy appeared to say that the virus was designed to target people based on their race. No evidence has been shown to support this theory.
“Covid-19 is meant to attack Caucasians and black people. The most vulnerable people are the Ashkenazi Jews and the Chinese,” he is heard saying in the video.
How did people react to Trump’s nomination of Kennedy?
While some Republicans in Congress, who are closely aligned with Trump, welcomed the nomination, many said they were afraid.
Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator from Louisiana, wrote on his X account, saying that Kennedy “has championed issues such as healthy eating and the need for transparency in our public health infrastructure”, adding that he is looking forward to learning about Kennedy’s other policy positions.
Cassidy graduated from Louisiana State University School of Medicine and worked as a physician before entering politics.
.@RobertKennedyJr he has championed issues such as healthy eating and the need for transparency in our public health infrastructure. I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.
– Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (@SenBillCassidy) November 14, 2024
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson posted on X: “[Kennedy is] a brilliant, courageous truth teller whose unwavering commitment to transparency will make America a healthier country.”
When Tommy Tuberville, a Republican senator from Alabama was asked if he would vote to confirm Kennedy’s nomination, Tuberville replied “100 percent”. He wrote on his X account, “No one has done more to expose corruption in big pharma and big food. Make America Live Again!” The Alabama senator is also a member of the Senate Health Committee.
However, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “I find some of the things he says scary, but I’ve never met him or sat down with him or heard him speak for any length of time.” “
Democrats raised concerns about Kennedy’s nomination.
Ed Markey, a Democratic congressman in Massachusetts, quoted a headline of Kennedy’s nomination to his X seat, along with the words, “It’s dangerous. Ineligible. To say nothing.”
It is dangerous. Ineligible. Carelessness.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 14, 2024
Washington Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, also cited the news on X, saying the nomination “could set America back in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research, and more”. “This can’t be too dangerous,” he wrote.
This can’t be too dangerous. There is no such thing as an anti-vaxxer & fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. it can take America back in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research, and more. And the consequences are not an afterthought—they are matters of life and death.
– Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) November 14, 2024
“Putting someone in charge of any public health service who denies the vaccine threatens the stability of the entire country,” Jeremy Levin, CEO of biotech company Ovid Therapeutics and former chairman of the biotech lobby group BIO told Reuters news agency. in October.
“The denial of the goal, which is RFK’s central plank, is probably as dangerous as anything you can imagine,” Levin said.
Shares of vaccine makers including US multinational Pfizer and mRNA vaccine maker Moderna fell 2 percent following the news.
