In an interview simply hours after his affirmation as Well being and Human Providers Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined his priorities in response to particular prompts by Fox Information host Laura Ingraham.
“It’s MAHA time” learn a chyron as Kennedy joined this system, later altering to “MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!”—a variation on Trump’s Make America Nice Once more slogan.
Kennedy asserted that the U.S. is “the sickest nation on this planet,” a speaking level he has repeated many occasions in reference to its low rating on numerous metrics amongst developed nations. He stated that Individuals face not solely a well being disaster but additionally a “religious disaster.”
Kennedy steered that addressing “ailments of isolation” could be a serious focus of his position within the Trump Administration, saying that disconnection from communities drives persistent ailments, suicide, despair, alcoholism, and habit. “I feel we have now to handle all of these issues on the similar time. We are able to’t simply say we’re going to make you bodily wholesome.”
“That’s a tall order,” Ingraham responded earlier than discussing how unconventional a decide Kennedy was for the position he’s assuming, taking part in a clip of Democratic Senate Chief Chuck Schumer criticizing Kennedy’s {qualifications}.
“The {qualifications} that Senator Schumer is speaking about there, are the very {qualifications} that received us to the place we’re right now,” Kennedy stated. “We do want a break. We’d like any individual totally different who can are available and say, ‘I’m going to be a disruptor. I’m not going to let the meals trade and the pharmaceutical trade run well being coverage anymore.’”
Right here’s what else Kennedy spoke about.
Learn Extra: ‘Terrifying’: Public Well being Consultants React to Senate’s Affirmation of RFK Jr. to Lead HHS
‘We should not be subsidizing folks to eat poison’
When requested by Ingraham what meals components he’d successfully take away from the U.S., Kennedy didn’t say he would outright ban any, arguing that Individuals ought to have “freedom of selection.” “If you wish to eat Twinkies,” he stated, “you ought to have the ability to eat them.” However he promised to result in “radical transparency” in informing folks of meals substances and their well being results.
Kennedy did say, nevertheless, that he would goal the Supplemental Diet Help Program (meals stamps) in addition to faculty lunches for adjustments. Kennedy has beforehand criticized the packages for prioritizing ultra-processed meals and sugary drinks, calling for a reorientation towards more healthy choices. “We should not be subsidizing folks to eat poison,” he stated.
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Says Extremely-Processed Meals Are ‘Poison’—However That He Received’t Ban Them
‘I’m not going to remove anyone’s vaccine’
Kennedy additionally stated, “I’m not going to remove anyone’s vaccine,” promising as an alternative to publicize extra info on their efficacy and unwanted side effects, claiming presently inadequate security research and surveillance of vaccine results.
“If individuals are proud of their vaccines, they ought to have the ability to get them,” Kennedy stated. “What we’re going to do is give folks good science.”
Requested whether or not he thought the COVID-19 vaccine was protected, Kennedy instructed Ingraham: “We don’t have good knowledge on it. And that could be a crime.”
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Denied He Is Anti-Vaccine Throughout His Affirmation Listening to. Right here’s His File
‘I’ve an inventory in my head’
Kennedy additionally promised firings within the Division and its subagencies—together with the world’s main analysis funder Nationwide Institutes of Well being.
“I’ve an inventory in my head,” Kennedy instructed Ingraham when requested if he had an inventory of particular folks to take away. Kennedy stated that lower-level federal workers have been “public-spirited, good public servants, good American patriots, and hardworking folks.” and that he was extra keen on “shifting away the individuals who have made actually unhealthy choices.”
When requested if he would lower the Division’s workforce in half, Kennedy stated there are 90,000 workers and he’d “be stunned if there have been 50% cuts.” “In the event you’ve been concerned in good science—you don’t have anything to fret about. In the event you care about public well being, you’ve received nothing to fret about.”
Learn Extra: Get Prepared for a Catastrophic 4 Years for Public Well being
‘Now we have now a capability to essentially examine it’
Ingraham additionally requested Kennedy about marijuana and abortion medicine, to which he replied that extra research must be accomplished.
Kennedy stated he was “anxious” concerning the “catastrophic impacts” that high-THC marijuana can have on youth however added “that fear additionally needs to be balanced” with how 24 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized leisure use of the drug and too many individuals have been incarcerated over the drug. Kennedy stated state-level legalization permits for extra intensive research on the consequences of marijuana.
Kennedy additionally stated comparable security research will likely be accomplished on abortion-inducing medicine, however he didn’t say whether or not he thinks entry to these drugs must be tightened.
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Says He’ll Comply with Trump’s Lead on Abortion
