A key figure in Donald Trump’s election campaign and a likely figure in his incoming administration is Robert F. Kennedy Jr, or RFK Jr for short. After abandoning his own tilt at president, the prominent anti-vaxxer endorsed and campaigned for Trump, helping propel him to victory.
Kennedy promoted the banner “ Make America Healthy Again ” during the campaign. Now Trump has made clear Kennedy will play a significant role in health. He has been promised a “ big role ” in guiding health policy, and Trump has said he would enable Kennedy to “ go wild ” on health, food and medicines.
So, who is Kennedy and what could his vision of a healthy America mean for public health in the US and globally? Who is RFK Jr? RFK Jr was born into a famous American political dynasty. He is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as US attorney general under his brother John F.
Kennedy, who was president. Robert F. Kennedy was then a senator before he was assassinated during his own run for the presidency in 1968.
His son, RFK Jr, was a prominent and effective environmental lawyer and activist, helping to pursue litigation against corporations, including Montsanto and DuPont . For the past 20 years, however, he has been better known for his embrace of various conspiracy theories and as a key source of vaccine misinformation spreading on social media. Kennedy has recently said he is “ not going to take anyone’s vaccines away ”.
However, he continues to make false claims about COV.
