RFK Jr.’s War on Science Is Really a War on Scientists
The Bulwark • • health
Key Points:
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced multiple political setbacks recently, including the appointment of vaccine-supporting officials to key health positions by Donald Trump, undermining Kennedy's anti-vaccine agenda.
- Trump withdrew the nomination of Casey Means, a fellow MAHA supporter, for surgeon general and replaced her with a pro-vaccine candidate who has publicly criticized Kennedy, though Kennedy expressed willingness to collaborate.
- Trump’s executive order supporting glyphosate production contradicted Kennedy's long-standing opposition to the herbicide, but Kennedy framed the decision as a necessary concession to farmers.
- Trump advisers have urged Kennedy to shift focus away from vaccine rhetoric, which is seen as alienating voters, and to emphasize healthier eating, while the administration has tightened control over health department appointments, sidelining outspoken vaccine skeptics.
- Despite these clashes, Kennedy remains at HHS and continues to share anti-elite and anti-scientist sentiments with Trump, maintaining a political bond rooted in their shared grievances within the MAGA/MAHA movement.