Trump Teases Vaccine Bans With RFK Jr. in Potential Health Role

On the eve of the 2024 U.S. statesmanlike election, Donald Trump isn’t saying nary to tearing down immoderate of the country’s nationalist wellness pillars if reelected. In caller interviews and nationalist events, Trump has endorsed eliminating h2o fluoridation and near unfastened the anticipation of banning definite vaccines—ideas that person been floated by the caller third-party candidate, imaginable Trump appointee, and encephalon worm big Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

While RFK is inactive connected the ballot successful galore states, helium suspended his third-party run successful precocious August, endorsing Trump for president astatine the aforesaid time. He’s remained a vocal Trump backer since then, though it’s been an unfastened question arsenic to however overmuch powerfulness RFK and his idiotic, often contradictory ideology could wield successful a imaginable 2nd word for Trump. Lately, Trump has signaled that he’s each aboard the RFK train.

A week agone Monday, Kennedy told supporters that Trump promised him sweeping power “of the nationalist wellness agencies,” including the FDA, CDC, and USDA. Last Thursday, NBC News reported that RFK is being eyed for a “key wellness role” successful a Trump administration, perchance heading a task that would absorption connected tackling puerility chronic illness successful the aforesaid vein arsenic Operation Warp Speed, the Trump-backed programme that accelerated the improvement of the first-generation covid-19 vaccines. And astatine a lawsuit that aforesaid day, Trump stated that Kennedy would beryllium “going to enactment connected wellness and women’s health,” that helium would inquire him to look astatine the “food supply,” and that Kennedy could “do thing helium wants.”

In an interrogation with NBC News released connected Sunday, Trump reiterated that Kennedy would person a “big relation successful the administration” if helium won. When Trump was specifically asked if helium would beryllium consenting to prohibition definite vaccines astatine the behest of Kennedy, helium responded: “Well, I’m going to speech to [Kennedy] and speech to different people, and I’ll marque a decision, but he’s a precise talented feline and has beardown views.”

Trump besides said that helium would beryllium connected committee with banning fluoride from the h2o supply, a proposal that Kennedy claimed the Trump White House would propulsion for earlier that Friday. “Well, I haven’t talked to him astir it yet, but it sounds OK to me,” Trump said astir the plan. “You know, it’s possible.”

Despite Kennedy’s protestations that helium is not “anti-vaccine,” helium has consistently and inaccurately attacked the signifier of vaccination, peculiarly successful his erstwhile presumption arsenic caput of the anti-vaccination radical Children’s Health Defense. He’s repeatedly dispersed misinformation astir the information and effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines specifically (some studies have found that the vaccines prevented implicit a cardinal deaths successful the U.S. alone). Both helium and Trump person besides endorsed a mendacious transportation betwixt vaccination successful wide and the improvement of autism spectrum disorder. And successful a caller CNN interrogation with Trump modulation co-chair Howard Lutnick, Lutnick stated that Kennedy could propulsion for the removal of immoderate vaccines from the marketplace if helium truthful chose.

There is simply a much morganatic technological statement astir the positives and negatives of h2o fluoridation, which is intended to trim people’s hazard of cavities. Some studies person shown that excessive fluoride exposure, particularly successful the womb, whitethorn rise the hazard of neurodevelopmental issues successful children, for instance. Some experts person besides called for a reevaluation of h2o fluoridation programs successful areas wherever fluoride is readily disposable done toothpaste products. But galore of the circumstantial claims Kennedy has made astir the harms of fluoridation, specified arsenic it raising the hazard of cancer, person next to nary evidence supporting them.

The grade of RFK’s sway implicit nationalist wellness successful the U.S. successful a Trump-led White House inactive isn’t clear. He would apt look fierce absorption from Democrat and perchance immoderate Republican senators if Trump attempted to name him to immoderate furniture position. And successful Lutnick’s CNN interview, helium claimed that Kennedy would not beryllium getting a ceremonial occupation astatine the Department of Health and Human Services. But adjacent if helium lone remained an informal advisor, his power could origin plentifulness of havoc wrong agencies similar the CDC and FDA, and it could surely endanger lives—as it already has.

In the autumn of 2019, the Pacific Island federation of Samoa experienced a monolithic epidemic of measles that killed astatine slightest 83 people, mostly young children. Months before, Kennedy had visited Samoa, helping substance a question of mistrust that led to little vaccination rates, pursuing the deaths of 2 children successful 2018 from a aesculapian mistake unrelated to the measles vaccine itself (nurses had mixed an expired musculus relaxant successful with the vaccine alternatively of h2o arsenic usual). Kennedy would later bravely downplay immoderate relation helium had successful the debacle, stating that helium ne'er told anyone not to get vaccinated.

There are plentifulness of reasons wherefore a Trump medication would beryllium disastrous for the U.S., but letting a worm-addled coward similar RFK anyplace adjacent our nationalist wellness agencies is precocious up determination connected the list.