Americans usually have no reason to think about fluoride in their water, but this week is not a typical week. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former independent presidential candidate who President Donald Trump is eyeing as a health czar, has vowed to remove minerals from drinking water if appointed to the next administration. President Kennedy said the chemical lowers children’s IQ, even though research overwhelmingly shows it is safe. playing cards obviousI agreeAnd in his victory speech Wednesday, he told Kennedy to “have a good time” working on public health.
The prospect of giving Kennedy power over the nation’s health is alarming, and not just because he is obsessed with fluoride. (And to be fair, many scientists have done serious and nuanced research on fluoride.) Mr. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer with no health background, but he said the most: Well known. skepticism, Although not completely hostile, towards a vaccine. He also has a long track record of defending other pseudoscientific and conspiratorial views, including the baseless belief that antidepressants cause mass shootings.
When I went through all of his “Make America Healthy Again” platforms, I expected to see some outlandish conspiracy. Rather, its goals may have been drawn from liberal public health campaigns. MAHA’s main goals include addressing the root causes of chronic disease, improving the food supply through regenerative agriculture, protecting natural habitats, removing corporate influence from government health agencies, and removing toxins from the environment. It will be. The campaign acknowledges the need for systemic interventions, such as increasing access to nutritious foods and prioritizing preventive health care, an effort that Democrats such as Michelle Obama have supported. It’s advertised.
MAHA represents a variety of concerns from across the political spectrum. “The issues he’s raising around health and food remain more salient,” said Rachel Mead, a political scientist at Boston University who has studied Kennedy’s politics. Blaming corporations for health problems is also a move from the left’s strategy, Meade said. In fact, over the past year, Bernie Sanders has been slamming the manufacturers of Ozempic for making it so expensive. MAHA makes a lot of sense because it is evaluated only by goals, not solutions. That’s also what makes it dangerous.
Everyone would agree that one of MAHA’s stated goals is to “remove toxins from the environment” is a good idea. But not everyone agrees on what a toxin is. From Kennedy’s perspective, fluoride is one of them. MAHA rightly points out that America’s “poor diet” must be addressed. But what is a good diet? For Kennedy, it may include: raw milkposes serious health risks. Of course, it’s important to address “inadequate medical care,” but for Kennedy, that could mean treating the coronavirus with ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, alternative treatments that have proven ineffective. There is sex.
RFK Jr.’s goal is not the only part of his platform that could potentially appeal to people beyond conspiracy-obsessed Trump supporters. His overarching diagnosis of the nation’s health problems is that Americans have been misled by bad science and the institutions that support it. “Once Americans have good science and are able to make their own choices, they will be healthier,” he said in an interview with NBC on Wednesday. This idea that people should do their own research and take control of their health resonates widely. belief that scientific institutions are not functioning span the political spectrumattracting subcultures such as anti-vaxxers, seed oil truthers, carnivore diet enthusiasts, and wellness influencers.
Kennedy himself is politically slippery. He was a Democrat until 2023, but after campaigning for president as an independent, he left the party and supported Trump. His anti-vaccine beliefs have historically been associated with hard-nosed liberals, and his environmental views align with the left. But he could easily fit in among Republicans. Many on the right have adopted anti-vaccine views during the coronavirus pandemic. More pertinently, his anti-establishment stance on health fits neatly into President Trump’s “us versus them” narrative. Kennedy, like Trump, considers himself a populist. He views public health issues in terms of a corrupt system that deceives ordinary people, regardless of party affiliation. The bipartisan coalition formed around opposition to mainstream public health has created a strange new faction, with Kennedy as one of its leading figures. One way to think of it, as my colleague Elaine Godfrey writes, is “woo-woo meets MAGA.”
MAHA appeals to this group and could possibly expand it. “Anti-establishment populism, with both left-wing and right-wing dimensions, is a prominent narrative in the alternative media space,” Mead said. Kennedy’s health skepticism resonates with followers of influencers who frequently spark health-related conspiracies, such as Russell Brand and Joe Rogan. Kennedy himself appears on their podcast. Like Kennedy, many of them are disaffected former Democrats whose politics are difficult to pin down. Although Logan supported Trump, he refers to himself as “.bleeding liberal”
There is still a chance that Mr. Kennedy will not be able to hold a key job in the Trump administration. His wariness of corporations is at odds with President Trump’s embrace of business, and Trump has already made it clear that environmental issues are not a priority. “Bobby, stay away from liquid gold,” he said in his victory speech. oil. President Kennedy’s history of bizarre behavior, such as leaving a dead bear in Central Park, may give some in Trump’s inner circle pause.
Even if Mr. Kennedy does not join the Trump administration, his ideas will continue to have broad appeal. America has seen what happens when people lose trust in public health institutions. The pandemic is lasting because people are afraid to get vaccinated. Measles outbreak returns to school. People drink bleach. And perhaps soon, Americans will stop drinking fluoridated water.
