‘Kill millions’: Shock claim about Donald Trump’s pick for US health secretary
One of Donald Trump’s most controversial choices for his cabinet has denied he is an anti-vaxxer – but he’s been labelled a “quack” anyway.
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A US politician has claimed “millions will die” if one of Donald Trump’s most controversial captain’s calls is confirmed.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, once a Democrat and the nephew of assassinated former US President John F Kennedy, has been nominated by Mr Trump to be health secretary.
On Wednesday, US time, Mr Kennedy faced the scrutiny of senators from both main parties for four hours in Washington DC. Under the US system, he must receive a majority of votes from senators to take up his post as health secretary.
If confirmed, Mr Kennedy would be in charge of a $2.7 trillion budget and 80,000 staff.
But if four of the 53 Republicans in the Senate vote against Mr Kennedy’s nomination there is a very real risk he won’t be able to take up his role.
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He has pledged to “make America healthy again” and crack down on additives in processed food.
“Something is poisoning the American people, and we know that the primary culprits are changing food supply,” he told senators.
“We have 10,000 ingredients in our country in our foods. Europeans have only 400”.
But the 71-year-old has history of spreading vaccine misinformation and making spurious health claims including that Wi-Fi causes cancer while HIV does not cause AIDS. And he’s been blamed for stoking anti vaccine sentiment in Samoa before a measles outbreak that killed 83 people. He denies the claims.
There are also concerns from Democrats and some Republicans that should Mr Kennedy take the reins at health and another pandemic broke out he would hesitate on ensuring vaccines were produced.
At the hearing, he was also accused of "selling out” to Donald Trump due to his changing stance on abortion. That issue has rattled Republicans who don’t believe Mr Kennedy has moved that much in the issue.
However, while Mr Kennedy’s views on vaccines revile many politicians, his distrust of the food industry could win him some Democrat votes.
Vaccines
Mr Kennedy founded the organisation Children’s Health Defence which has been accused of being against vaccines.
But in a statement prepared before the hearing, Mr Kennedy insisted he wasn’t “anti-vaccine” comparing his work in the area to his research into fish.
“I am (neither) anti-vaccine nor anti-industry. I am pro-safety.
“I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, but that didn’t make me anti-fish.
“All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare,” he said.
“Nor am I the enemy of food producers. … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.”
‘Millions will die’
He added that he was not worried about “asking uncomfortable questions” about vaccines and ingredients in processed food to “end the chronic disease epidemic and bring health back to our children”.
However, that hasn’t reassured some politicians.
“RFK Jr wants to conduct the Tuskegee experiments on all of us,” said Democrat Senator Brian Schatz.
The Tuskegee experiments was a now condemned four decade long medical study that saw 400 black men with syphilis left untreated to see how the disease progressed. One hundred men died despite treatment being available.
‘Quacks, charlatans’
“If (Mr Kennedy) runs (the health department), millions will die,” Mr Schatz claimed.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden told the hearing it was Mr Kennedy’s “lifework” to sow vaccine scepticism.
“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 lifesaving vaccines”.
Senators brought up that Childrens Health Defence sells onesies for children which are emblazoned with the words “Unvaxxed unafraid,” and “no vax, no problem”.
Mr Kennedy was asked by high profile independent senator Bernie Sanders if he would remove those products from sale now he said that he seemingly had no particular issue with vaccines. But the former presidential candidate said he had no connection to the organisation anymore and could not force them to do anything.
‘Sell out’ on abortion claim
Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan highlighted Mr Kennedy’s shift on abortion rights since he embraced Mr Trump.
“It is remarkable that you have such a long record of fighting for women’s reproductive freedom, and really great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice secretary,” Ms Hassan said.
He responded that he agreed with Mr Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy,” and the states should decide if abortions are available. That reflects the president’s view on the issue.
“When was it that you decided to sell out the values you’ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?” the senator then replied.
In move that will concern pro-abortion politicians, however, Mr Kennedy said that if he took over health he would look into the safety of the drug mifepristone, following a demand from President Trump. It is commonly used with other drugs to induce abortions. It has been deemed safe to use for 25 years.
But antiabortionists say the drug is not safe and should not be allowed to be used. If mifepristone was no longer used it could indirectly restrict access to abortions.
Brain worms and dead bears
Mr 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 Mr Trump after withdrawing from the race led to condemnation from his siblings — and on Tuesday, his cousin and former US ambassador to Australia 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 centres 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 Ms Kennedy, a former ambassador and daughter of John F Kennedy.
Originally published as ‘Kill millions’: Shock claim about Donald Trump’s pick for US health secretary
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