Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the eccentric scion of America’s most prominent political dynasty, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the US Department of Health. Trump said Robert Kennedy would restore agencies like Health and Human Services to the traditions of gold-standard scientific research and end the chronic disease epidemic.
Robert Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaxxer known for his controversial views on vaccines, has been in the news for the past few years for conspiracy theories and bizarre statements. If confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, Kennedy Jr., 70, would have authority over 13 agencies under Health and Human Services – including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also has an international role; National Institutes of Health that conduct cutting-edge research; and Medicare, the government’s health insurance for seniors. It could also give Kennedy Jr. the power to destroy the entire American health system.
Let’s take a look at some of RJK Jr’s conspiracy theories:
Covid-19 targets certain castes
Robert Kennedy Jr. bizarrely suggested during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that the disease targets certain races while sparing others. According to him, Covid “racially targeted” white and black people and “spared” Jewish and Chinese people.
Another theory he promoted was that Covid was genetically engineered and was a bio-weapon problem.
He also promoted the use of the unapproved treatment and prevention of Covid – ivermectin (an antiparasitic drug which studies have shown does not effectively treat or prevent Covid).
Vaccines can cause autism
According to RFK Jr., vaccinations can cause autism – a neurological and developmental disorder. In a 2006 Rolling Stone article, the 70-year-old said modern vaccine formulations were causing a rise in autism, Forbes reported, adding that the US government knew about it but that Was allowing the pharmaceutical industry to “poison” Americans.
CIA helped in the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the 1963 assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy.
RFK Jr. is the nephew of John F. Kennedy and the son of his brother Robert, a senator and former attorney general—who was also assassinated in 1968.
Voter fraud in the 2004 presidential election
According to the longtime environmental and health campaigner, voter fraud allowed George W. Bush to win the 2004 US presidential election against Democratic leader John Kerry.
Prescription drugs cause mass shootings
During a Twitter Spaces discussion with Elon Musk a few years ago, RFK Jr. linked prescription drugs to mass shootings in the US. According to him, drugs like Prozac cause firing.
“Before antidepressants, there were no shootings,” he told Musk.
Parasitic worms ate his brain
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also shares strange stories from his personal life. He once said that a parasitic worm entered his brain, ate a part of it and then died.
