Washington, United States:

Robert F Kennedy Jr faced a make-or-break Senate hearing Wednesday where he was grilled on his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and plans to upend US science agencies as he bids to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary.

If confirmed, the 71-year-old Kennedy family scion and former environmental lawyer would take the helm of a department overseeing more than 80,000 employees and a $1.7 trillion budget, just as scientists warn of the growing risk of bird flu triggering a human pandemic.

Critics argue he is dangerously unqualified, citing his promotion of debunked claims linking childhood vaccines to autism, his suggestion that HIV does not cause AIDS, and accusations that he fueled anti-measles vaccine sentiment in Samoa during a 2019 visit, months before a deadly outbreak.

They also say his lucrative consulting fees for law firms suing pharmaceutical companies revealed in disclosure forms pose a conflict of interest. 

“Mr Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, he has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life saving vaccines,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said in his opening remarks.

Kennedy hit back, saying: “News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine and anti-industry — I am neither. I am pro-safety.”

At the same time, the former Democrat has garnered praise for his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda, which riffs on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and emphasizes combating the nation’s chronic disease epidemic through healthier eating and promoting sustainable farming.

Complicating his path to confirmation, a conservative group founded by former vice president Mike Pence has raised concerns about Kennedy’s past donations to organizations supporting abortion access — an issue that could alienate some Republicans and hurt his chances of securing a majority of Senate votes.

Vaccine opposition

Though he has tried to soften his vaccine skepticism in recent months, Kennedy, or “RFK Jr” as he is widely known, spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19 shots — which he called the “deadliest ever made.”

He has also stated that he exclusively drinks raw milk, claiming it “advances human health” — a stance he maintains even as bird flu spreads among US cattle and has been shown to contaminate unpasteurized milk.

Another frequent target of his ire is the presence of fluoride in the nation’s public water supplies, introduced in the mid-20th century to reduce dental cavities.

While his criticism of this practice has generated controversy, he also has the support of some in the scientific community who question whether the benefits of water fluoridation outweigh potential neurotoxic risks, particularly as fluoride is now readily available through toothpaste.

Brain worm, dead whale

Kennedy initially ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, setting the campaign ablaze with a string of headline-grabbing revelations.

His claim of recovering from a parasitic brain worm, made during an old divorce deposition, resurfaced — as did a tale, told by his daughter, that he once used a chainsaw to decapitate a dead whale.

He even released a video admitting that, a decade earlier, he had placed a dead six-month-old bear cub in Central Park after initially planning to skin it for meat. 

His decision to back Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin Caroline Kennedy published a scathing letter to senators, urging them to reject him and calling him a “predator” who led younger relatives down the path of drug addiction.

“His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks,” wrote Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of slain former president John F Kennedy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A key lawyer, connected to Robert F Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, has filed a petition to suspend or withdraw approval of a polio vaccine for children. Attorney Aaron Siri has filed the petition on behalf of Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), an activist group that questions vaccine safety, asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put on hold the polio vaccine manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur. Mr Siri has argued that the vaccine should not be administered until another trial is conducted.

“The clinical trials relied upon to license this product did not include a control group and only assessed safety for up to three days after injection. These trials therefore did not comply with the applicable federal statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to prove the product was “safe” prior to licensure,” read the petition filed in 2022, accessed by NYT.

Apart from the polio vaccine, Mr Siri has also filed petitions to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines. He has challenged and in some cases, quashed COVID-19 mandates across the country in addition to suing federal agencies for the disclosure of records related to vaccine approvals.

Mr Siri is an adviser to RFK Jr., helping him select health officials for the Trump administration, according to media reports. He recently posted a picture with RFK on his X (previously Twitter) feed and quote-posted the announcement by President-elect Trump when he picked the secretary of Health and Human Services. “A new day is about to dawn for transparency, accountability and truth!” he wrote at the time.

A new day is about to dawn for transparency, accountability and truth! https://t.co/kUxTbQFRuF

— Aaron Siri (@AaronSiriSG) November 14, 2024

If RFK Jr. is confirmed as head of HHS, he will oversee the FDA and might take the rare step of intervening in the petition review process.

Quizzed about the petition, the FDA in a response to CNN wrote: “The FDA is continuing to review the petition. We cannot predict when the reviews will be completed. The FDA will consider the concerns outlined in the petition as a final decision is made.”

“The FDA will respond directly to the petitioner, and that response will be posted on the docket. Until such time, we cannot comment further.”

Also Read | RFK Jr Brings JFK Conspiracies To Heart Of Trump Team

Donald Trump on vaccines

While Trump has been a vaccine sceptic, he praised the polio vaccine and related vaccination programme in a recent interview.

“The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they’re going to have to work real hard to convince me,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview.

During the canvassing trail, Mr Trump hinted that the rise in autism cases may have been connected to the child vaccines.

“We’re going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it,” he said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s actress wife Cheryl Hines is facing flak online after she posted a video of her hubby showering partially naked while filming a video for her beauty line in the couple’s bathroom. RFK Jr., the nominee for President-elect Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services department, appeared oblivious as the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star tried to plug her Hines & Young line, which she founded with daughter Catherin. Though the post was meant to be a promotional strategy, it backfired as social media users called her out for the ‘cringy video’.

Captioning her post on Instagram as “H+Y content interruption”, Ms Hines said, “You [RFK Jr.] can’t take a shower, I’m doing a video! No, no, no, I’m doing a…you’ve gotta give me a second I’m doing a video for Hines+Young. Honey… 60% off.”

She added “Oh Bobby” as a caption, followed by heart and smiley face emojis.

In a follow-up post, Ms Hines also included a still photo of products from her line, including a MAHA candle, apparently referencing her husband’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.

Cheryl Hines posts video of RFK Jr in the shower to promote her line of “MAHA” branded candles, body sprays, and creams. pic.twitter.com/jd4DwQFOmL

— PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) November 30, 2024

Social media reacts

The video and Ms Hines’ attempt at promoting her brand at the cost of RFK Jr. did not go down well with social media users who called out the actress for being a ‘grifter’.

“This is one of the cringiest things I’ve ever seen…lost all respect for Cheryl Hines,” said one user while another added: “Lame. Very lame. Maybe don’t follow your husband into the bathroom while he showers to do an advertisement, if you’re going to complain about him taking a shower in the bathroom while you’re doing an advertisement.”

A third commented: “Jesus, gotta give them credit, they are the most consistent grifters in history.”

Also Read | Robert Kennedy Jr “Grabbed” Reporter’s Hand Before Scandal: Report

While most criticised the video, some said it was an attempt by Ms Hines to show that the couple were as strong as ever after it was revealed that RFK Jr. had a “digital affair” with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. The pair allegedly began communicating after the publication of Nuzzi’s profile on Kennedy in New York Magazine. The publication and Ms Nuzzi have since parted ways.

Washington:

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been pictured sharing a McDonald’s meal with his future boss, days after they promised to “make America healthy again.”

Kennedy flew with Trump aboard his plane to an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in New York on Saturday along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Donald Jr., the Republican’s eldest son.

The four men are shown seated in front of trays of McDonald’s food in a photo posted online by Donald Jr. on Sunday which he jokingly captioned: “Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW.”

Trump and Kennedy, a scion of the famous Democratic political family, campaigned together ahead of the presidential election on November 5 promising to tackle processed food among other priorities. 

Announcing Kennedy’s nomination on Thursday, Trump said that “for too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies.”

Social media commentators noted that Kennedy appeared the least enthusiastic of the diners as he gingerly held an opened burger box, with fries and a bottle of Coca-Cola in front of him.

The 70-year-old, a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine campaigner, has long argued that the United States needs to curb its obesity epidemic by reducing the high levels of sugar, fat and high-additive processed food in the national diet.

In a podcast posted last week, he was scathing about Trump’s diet, saying “the stuff that he eats is really bad.”

“Campaign food is always bad, but the food that goes onto (Trump’s) airplane is just poison,” he told the Joe Polish podcast. “You don’t have a choice, you’re either given KFC or Big Macs.”

Trump has never made a secret of his love of fast food and Diet Coke, even briefly stopping to work at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania during his campaign in October.

“I love salt!” he told workers there.

Kennedy will need confirmation by the Senate to take up his job as health secretary, with some senior Republicans voicing concerns about his suitability for the position.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

U.S. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally on August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona, U.S.A.
| Photo Credit: AP

Donald Trump has added former White House hopefuls Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team if he wins November’s U.S. presidential election, his campaign said on Tuesday (August 27, 2024).

Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Gabbard hail from outside the Republican party sphere where former President Trump draws most of his support.

“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Mr. Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes said in a statement.

Mr. Kennedy, 70, an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and descendent of a Democratic political dynasty, was running as an independent presidential candidate until he suspended his campaign last week and endorsed Mr. Trump. He joined the race for the White House as a Democratic challenger to Biden before switching to run as an independent.

A former Democratic congresswoman, Ms. Gabbard ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She left the party in 2022 to become an independent. Increasingly critical of Mr. Biden and his administration, she is now popular among conservatives, frequently appearing as a guest on far-right TV and radio shows.

In an interview posted on X on Monday, Mr. Kennedy told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson he had been asked to join Mr. Trump’s transition team “to help pick the people who will be running the government.”

In exchange for endorsing Mr. Trump, Mr. Kennedy is hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Mr. Kennedy told Reuters last week.

Strategists have said it was unclear how Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement would help Mr. Trump, who is in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Voter interest in Mr. Kennedy waned this summer as Mr. Trump survived an assassination attempt and Mr. Biden passed the campaign torch to Ms. Harris.

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. authored ‘A Letter to Liberals’. He feared the “pharma cartel” was manipulating COVID-19 management, and the governments were bullies whose hallmark became “cancel culture”. The 120-page booklet was a lament. The Democratic Party should return to its roots, the storied FDR/JFK liberalism, which “prided itself on its open-minded tolerance of contrary opinion… and its fearless love for contention and disputation”.

RFK Jr., as he is widely known, wants to lead by example. When the Kennedy clan decided to endorse incumbent Joe Biden in the November elections, there was little resentment. “I am pleased they are politically active — it’s a family tradition,” RFK Jr., who is standing in the presidential election as an independent, wrote on X. The 70-year-old might be a namesake to Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. Attorney General, but “he does not share the same values, vision or judgment”, according to his siblings. But this does not dishearten RFK Jr. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”, and this “healing” is possible for America too.

The Kennedy campaign of 2024 is built on similar contentions and contradictions. He is a Democrat and an environmentalist, spouting anti-vaccine sentiments to a rousing Republican voter base. Fear grows this “spoiler” may peel away votes from Mr. Biden and the Republican nominee Donald Trump. Anything goes, he says, to “break the two-party system”.

A puzzling pitch

RFK Jr. is a political enigma. He wants to “reclaim” the Democratic Party while sustaining links with far-right figures. The Great American Evils are corporate “elites”, says RFK Jr., a millionaire hailing from the Great American Family. He identifies himself as “pro-choice”, but abortion is a “tragedy”. He refutes the anti-vaccine label, before spewing misinformed, debunked ideas that vaccines can cause autism. The Kennedy heir has faith in scientific empiricism, but maintains that COVID-19 is “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people”.

These claims “play[s] on anti-Semitic myths” and are “morally and factually wrong”, came a counter from his brother Joseph Kennedy II. Before entering politics, RFK Jr., the environmentalist, won legal battles against corporate polluters. Now, he endorses bitcoins, which leave behind a significant carbon footprint, and pitches “freedom and free markets” as a climate solution. His running mate Nicole Shanahan called him the “only anti-war candidate today”; RFK Jr., however, has defended Israel’s “right to self-defence” and opposes a ceasefire in Gaza.

Since 2004, RFK Jr. has distinguished himself as a conspiracy theorist. He believes his uncle Joan F. Kennedy, the former President, was assassinated by “members of the CIA”; the 2004 presidential elections were stolen; mass shootings are linked to prescription drugs; chemicals in water could turn children transgender.

RFK Jr. insists his “populist movement defies left-right division”; the anger and aggression are a distant echo of Mr. Trump’s rabble-rousing politics. The media is a “mercenary” operation, “here to fortify all of the corporate orthodoxies from their advertisers”; the “corporate capture” of the government is the root of American despair. A Politico analysis showed that in the 69 times he has appeared on television since January, nearly half were with conservative or openly ‘anti-woke’ hosts. On immigration, he thinks Mr. Biden has failed to manage the illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has also opposed Mr. Trump’s plan to build a wall, while vowing to “close the border” if elected.

His policies include cutting military expenses, fixing economic inequality, reducing student debt, and freeing the American people from the clutches of Wall Street. Early polls show RFK Jr. holds appeal across political lines, mostly among the younger demographic. He held a favourability rating of +25%; Mr. Biden was at minus 2% and Mr. Trump at +7%, according to a Harvard poll in November last year.

“…the far right and the far left [seem to] wrap around and can coalesce around a candidate like this,” author Melissa Smith told Al Jazeera.

Inconsistencies make for intrigue in the 2024 presidential election bid. History is not kind to third-party candidates, but the Kennedy candidacy could become a “spoiler” in the decidedly close race between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. To Mr. Trump, RFK Jr. is a “Democrat ‘Plant’” and “far more LIBERAL than anyone running as a Democrat”. The Democratic National Committee has set up a war room to deal with “third-party threats” such as Mr. Kennedy. Polls also show Mr. Trump’s lead over Mr. Biden can widen from anywhere between 2 to 8 points if RFK Jr. stays on the ballot.

The potential spoiler faces pushback from the Kennedy clan. A Kennedy name on the ballot, the siblings fear, would make Democrats feel “torn” between the nephew of former president JFK and the incumbent Mr. Biden, an outcome “perilous” for America’s future. The family is thus bolstering Mr. Biden’s re-election bid: being photographed at the White House; descending on the campaign trail; and stepping up media appearances.

RFK Jr.’s “misguided stands on issues, his poor judgement, and tenuous relationship with the truth” make him unfit for the presidency, his cousin Stephen Kennedy Smith said. There is the added risk to the Kennedy legacy, should RFK Jr. tip the elections in favour of the Republic nominee. The family line is clear: RFK Jr.’s presidential bid is “dangerous to the country”. He is “trading in on Camelot celebrity conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” wrote JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg on Instagram (King Arthur’s castle Camelot has become a metaphor for the Kennedy dynasty in his rallies). “Let’s not be distracted again by somebody’s vanity project.”

Distraction is RFK Jr.’s design. To the victor belong the spoils, the saying goes, but the third candidate is happy to set alight the treasures. He wants to “spoil [the race] for both of them [Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden]” and take the ravaged Americans “over the castle walls together”.