Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a vaccine skeptic, sometimes a conspiracy theorist, and he might just be a part of president-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. In August, Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump; that same month, when asked, Trump said he’d “probably” give him a job. “He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” Trump said at the time.
Perhaps that job will be in the world of public health. Kennedy’s background photo on X, pictures him and Trump shaking hands, captioned “make America healthy again,” so it’s clearly top of mind. Around two weeks ago, Kennedy posted to X—the social network owned by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who might have a spot in Trump’s government, too—saying the “FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.”
He continued: “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
In an interview Wednesday, Kennedy continued his attack. He said there were entire departments in the FDA “that have to go, that are not doing their job.”
The Food and Drug Administration has been around since 1906, though under different names at times before officially becoming the FDA in 1930. Recently, Kennedy said Trump has asked him to do three things: First, “clean up the corruption in our government health agencies”; second, “return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science”; and third, “Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic.” Apparently that means potentially removing fluoride from water, banning pharmaceutical advertising, and getting toxins out of foods, if Kennedy has his way.
But he said, “I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines,” in an interview, because he wants people to have a choice. Still, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out, stocks of vaccine makers dropped the day Trump was elected.
In Trump’s early victory speech, he reiterated the “make America healthy again” tagline, called Kennedy a “great guy,” and joked that Kennedy had to leave the oil to him, but “other than that, go have a good time.” Days ago, before he was elected president, Trump said Kennedy would “work on health and women’s health.” This was after Trump said he’d protect women, “whether the women like it or not.”
In case you’re unfamiliar, Kennedy is actually an environmental lawyer, and doesn’t appear to have any formal education in medicine or public health. He is also, notably, part of a famous Democratic family: nephew to President John F. Kennedy, and son to JFK’s brother and attorney general Robert F. Kennedy. RFK Jr. ran for president as a Democrat in April 2023 before becoming a third-party candidate later that year, in October. Not to mention, Kennedy and Trump haven’t always had kind words for each other either. Kennedy once accused Trump of betraying his followers, and Trump once called him “the most radical left candidate in the race.”
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