RFK Jr. confirms he will have health issues on day one

As Donald Trump prepares to reclaim his seat at the Resolute Desk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has positioned himself to exert sweeping influence over U.S. health care from day one of the new Trump administration.

The Kennedy scion claimed in a Wednesday interview with NPR that he and the president-elect would remove fluoride from drinking water and provide “information” about vaccines on Jan. 20.

Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer — who has no degree in public health, science or medicine — is considered one of the country's loudest anti-vaxxers (a movement of which he is not a member). According to him, he and Trump will “make America whole again.”

“He knows it better than anyone,” Trump said Nov. 1 of the man he once called the “dumbest member” of the Kennedy dynasty, adding that he “has some views that I completely agree with.” I agree completely, and have done so for a long time.”

Kennedy has long argued that pharmaceutical companies and federal health regulators are harming Americans' health.

In an August interview with the Daily Beast, he indicated that he wanted to change the “focus at NIH from drug development and infectious diseases to ending the chronic disease epidemic,” including what he called the “autism epidemic.” priority action items.

Although he rejects the label “anti-vaxxer,” critics point to Kennedy's involvement as founder of Children's Health Defense, the country's most well-funded anti-vaxxer organization, and his vocal opposition to compulsory vaccination at a time when it had already been abolished to prevent the spread of viruses in the country is further evidence that he is an anti-vaxxer.

For years he has also promoted various controversial theories related to the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccinations, repeatedly claiming that vaccines are linked to autism – a long-debunked idea. He has also suggested removing some vaccines from the market – a stance Trump has not ruled out.

“There is nothing I would do in office for people who are happy with their vaccines that would take that away from them,” Kennedy told the Beast. “I don’t think medical interventions should be mandated.”

The potential impact of Kennedy's vaccination rhetoric has not been lost on experts, many of whom have warned of possible catastrophic effects.

“He misinforms to the point that children are suffering or dying, and he also holds back and takes no responsibility for it,” Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNBC.

Kennedy's sister, Kerry Kennedy, also expressed concern about her brother's vaccine rhetoric. “I'm concerned about vaccinations for children and making sure that the United States, at home and abroad, continues to make all of these vaccines available to people, to our children and to our world,” she said on CNN Wednesday.

As for other potential Trump-era public health and healthcare reforms, the President-elect has reportedly tasked Kennedy with addressing women's health, nutrition, and healthy diets and pesticides.

Kennedy also advocates removing fluoride from drinking water with the misrepresented argument that fluoride is linked to “arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.”

Both the CDC and the American Dental Association say fluoridated water poses none of these risks at the levels currently recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Water fluoridation has improved the oral health of millions of Americans.

However, Kennedy's anti-fluoride agenda “sounds fine to me,” Trump said.

How exactly Kennedy will implement his announced plans remains unclear. In a leaked audio recording, he claimed that Trump had promised him “control of public health agencies,” including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture.

While Trump's transition co-chair Howard Lutnick denied plans to name Kennedy secretary of Health and Human Services, the president-elect himself confirmed that Kennedy would play a “very big role” in health care.

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