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RFK, Jr. tells supporters he will play a role in protecting public health in Trump administration

By isabelle // 2024-11-10

Many supporters of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s failed presidential bid voted for Donald Trump, who said that he would give the former candidate a prominent role in shaping health policy. Kennedy’s outspoken support for health freedom and criticism of unsafe pharmaceuticals and food products has boosted his popularity among health-conscious Americans, and there is a lot of hope that he can do something about the many regulatory problems that are compromising consumer safety. However, a recent interview with the co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team, Howard Lutnick, has spurred some questions about just how big of a role Kennedy will ultimately play in the new administration. In the run-up to the election, Trump said he would place Kennedy on a panel investigating the spikes in chronic disease seen in the U.S. if he wins the election. Some have interpreted this to mean a prominent role in charge of a public health agency like the Department of Health and Human Services or the Food and Drug Administration. However, in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Lutnick appeared to downplay Kennedy’s potential role. She asked him directly if Trump promised Kennedy the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Lutnick said that he has spoken to Kennedy extensively about his health beliefs and that he isn’t getting the HHS Secretary job, nor does he want it. Instead, he said that Kennedy said he wants access to all the data about various medical products so that consumers know what is safe. “He wants to help get data so he can prove things. He just wants data, and he wants to prove things wrong, and he says if 'I can’t prove them wrong, that's fine, but if I can, I can save millions of Americans’ lives and make their lives better,' and I think that's pretty cool,” he explained. These comments led some supporters to worry he’s being sidelined, but according to Kennedy, this is not the case. He posted on X on November 6: “President Trump has asked me to do three things: 1. Clean up the corruption in our government health agencies. 2. Return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. 3. Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic.” Kennedy is already on Trump’s transition team, and Trump announced as recently as Sunday that he intends to let Kennedy “go wild on food” and “go wild on medicine” if he wins the election.

"Make America Healthy Again"

Kennedy has spoken frequently about his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, with a focus on banning toxic agricultural chemicals and eliminating conflicts of interest in agencies that make decisions about food safety, among other steps. He has been very vocal about pursing corruption in the FDA and getting rid of departments that are failing Americans. He posted on X recently about precisely what he’ll be targeting: “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 also recently clarified his stance on vaccines. He is known for trying to spread the word about vaccine dangers, but he clarified that the administration does not plan to “take vaccines away from anybody.” Instead, he is pushing for informed consent, ensuring that rigorous scientific studies are conducted on vaccines and that people are made aware of their potential effects so they can make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Sources for this article include: CNN.com WashingtonPost.com

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