- A member of the famous Kennedy clan becomes head of the US Department of Health
- Anti-corruption and confrontation in health institutions
- D. Trump does not rule out banning some vaccines
- Who is R.F. Kennedy Jr.?
A member of the famous Kennedy clan becomes head of the US Department of Health
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy to head the Health Department in his new administration.
On his social networking platform Truth Social, Trump announced that Kennedy would ensure that food and drug safety regulatory agencies once again adhere to the "gold standard tradition of research and transparency to end the epidemic of chronic disease and make America great and healthy again!"
D. Trump also wrote that America has "for too long" suffered from "deception and misinformation" from the "industrial food complex" and drug companies[1].
Trump, who had already won the presidential election, had previously announced that he would appoint Kennedy to some health policy-making role.
R.F. Kennedy Jr. is a member of the famous Kennedy family and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. Although he was a member of the Democratic Party for many years, he has recently distanced himself from it.
Anti-corruption and confrontation in health institutions
The announcement that Kennedy Jr. would head the Health Department was not unexpected. For several weeks, Trump has been hinting that a Kennedy family member would get a significant role in the new White House administration.
"He will help make America healthy again. He's a great guy and he's really got some serious ideas. He wants to do some things, and we're going to let him do some things," Trump said of Kennedy Jr. during his celebratory election night speech[2].
Kennedy Jr. told the US media that President Trump had given him three instructions to implement in his new position.
"He wants to ensure that regulatory agencies are free of corruption and conflicts. He wants to return the agencies to the gold standard, which is the empirically based, evidence-based science and medicine for which they were once famous. And he wants to end the chronic disease epidemic by making a measurable impact on chronic disease reduction within two years," he said.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy Jr's new position will start in January next year, as will the entire new White House administration.
D. Trump does not rule out banning some vaccines
President-elect Trump and Ronald F. Kennedy Jr. are likely to find much common ground on health issues. The two politicians have publicly supported each other's ideas on public health issues on a number of occasions, for example Trump has not ruled out the idea of banning certain types of vaccines in America.
He spoke about this after he had already won the election and said that he would "make a decision" on banning certain vaccines when the time came. This idea was suggested to him by the well-known vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"Well, I'll talk to him and I'll talk to other people and I'll make a decision, but he's a very talented man and he's got very strong views," said Trump when asked if his administration could ban certain vaccines.
In fact, Kennedy Jr. later said he would "not take away anybody's vaccines". He said this when asked if there were specific vaccines that he would remove from the market. He also rejected the idea that he was categorically "anti-vaccine".
"If vaccines help someone, I will not take them away. People should be able to choose, and the choice should be based on the best information. So I am going to make sure that scientific studies on safety and efficacy are published and that people are able to make an individual assessment of whether a product is right for them," he said.
On the social network 'X,' Kennedy Jr. also wrote that if Trump wins the election, his administration will "advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water" on his first day in office.
He alluded to the fact that fluoride is an industrial waste and that it can cause various health problems. Fluoridated water is commonly thought to prevent tooth decay.
"Fluoride is an industrial waste product that has been linked to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, loss of IQ, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease," believes R.F. Kennedy Jr.
When asked what he thought about this, Trump said yes:
"Well, I haven't talked to him about it yet, but it sounds good to me. You know, it's possible."
Who is R.F. Kennedy Jr.?
R.F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, the late Attorney General of the United States, Senator from New York and Democratic presidential candidate, and the nephew of former President J.F. Kennedy. He was previously married to Hollywood actress Cheryl Hines, and in the 1970s he starred in a nature documentary with Roger Ailes.
In fact, earlier in his career, he devoted himself to environmental law, working actively on the clean-up of the Hudson River and leading global efforts to protect waterways.
Now, Kennedy Jr. speaks enthusiastically of a time when the country's waters were not polluted, pharmaceutical companies did not harm children, biological weapons had no chance of destroying mankind, and the people could actually trust a government that did not censor the public, as it does now.
Earlier, he argued that the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were an attack on constitutional rights that lacked any scientific or even democratic process. At one point, Kennedy Jr. blamed Trump for managing the pandemic and even for the mass quarantine, saying that "the hysteria was the worst thing he did, and nobody holds him responsible for it."
He has also been a vocal critic of vaccines for years, even suggesting in the past that vaccines have links to autism. As for his policies and attitudes, Kennedy Jr. says that his views are the same as those of his father and famous uncle.
He has also been a vocal critic of vaccines for years, even suggesting in the past that vaccines have links to autism. As for his policies and attitudes, Kennedy Jr. says his views are the same as those of his father and famous uncle.
He says the Democratic Party needs to get back to its core issues: support for a strong middle class, racial justice and the protection of civil and workers' rights, protection of the environment, opposition to corporate control of regulatory agencies, opposition to government corruption, the demand for honest government, support for freedom of speech, bodily autonomy and medical freedom, advocacy for peace, against war, and firm opposition to the military-industrial complex.
