In an interview simply hours after his affirmation as Well being and Human Companies 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 mentioned that People face not solely a well being disaster but in addition 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 power ailments, suicide, melancholy, alcoholism, and habit. “I feel we have now to deal with all of these issues on the identical time. We will’t simply say we’re going to make you bodily wholesome.”
“That’s a tall order,” Ingraham responded earlier than discussing how unconventional a choose Kennedy was for the position he’s assuming, enjoying 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 obtained us to the place we’re right now,” Kennedy mentioned. “We do want a break. We’d like anyone 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 Health Experts React to Senate’s Confirmation 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 People ought to have “freedom of selection.” “If you wish to eat Twinkies,” he mentioned, “you ought to have the ability to eat them.” However he promised to result in “radical transparency” in informing folks of meals components and their well being results.
Kennedy did say, nevertheless, that he would goal the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (meals stamps) in addition to faculty lunches for modifications. 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 mentioned.
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Says Ultra-Processed Foods Are ‘Poison’—But That He Won’t Ban Them
‘I’m not going to remove anyone’s vaccine’
Kennedy additionally mentioned, “I’m not going to remove anyone’s vaccine,” promising as a substitute to publicize extra data on their efficacy and unwanted effects, claiming at the moment 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 mentioned. “What we’re going to do is give folks good science.”
Requested whether or not he thought the COVID-19 vaccine was secure, Kennedy informed Ingraham: “We don’t have good information on it. And that may be a crime.”
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Denied He Is Anti-Vaccine During His Confirmation Hearing. Here’s His Record
‘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 informed Ingraham when requested if he had an inventory of particular folks to take away. Kennedy mentioned that lower-level federal workers had been “public-spirited, good public servants, good American patriots, and hardworking folks.” and that he was extra all for “transferring away the individuals who have made actually unhealthy choices.”
When requested if he would reduce the Division’s workforce in half, Kennedy mentioned there are 90,000 workers and he’d “be shocked if there have been 50% cuts.” “In case you’ve been concerned in good science—you don’t have anything to fret about. In case you care about public well being, you’ve obtained nothing to fret about.”
Learn Extra: Get Ready for a Catastrophic Four Years for Public Health
‘Now we have now a capability to actually examine it’
Ingraham additionally requested Kennedy about marijuana and abortion medication, to which he replied that extra research should be carried out.
Kennedy mentioned he was “frightened” in regards to 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 mentioned state-level legalization permits for extra intensive research on the consequences of marijuana.
Kennedy additionally mentioned related security research can be carried out on abortion-inducing medication, however he didn’t say whether or not he thinks entry to these capsules should be tightened.
Learn Extra: RFK Jr. Says He’ll Follow Trump’s Lead on Abortion
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