RFK Jr: The anti-vaxxer who could become Trump's health secretary

By Jacob Paul (with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel)

From claiming vaccines don't work to wanting to take fluoride out of the water, Robert Francis Kennedy Jr is often best known for his controversial views. Now, he's set for a role in Donald Trump's future administration.

In brief…

• RFK Jr is the controversial nephew of JFK who is expected to play a role in Donald Trump's future administration.
• Some of his wildest claims include alleging Covid-19 was bio-engineered and that vaccines cause autism.
• Despite this, he is expected to become the next US Health Secretary.

Who is RFK Jr?

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr, known as RFK, is the controversial nephew of John F Kennedy - the 35th US president.

JFK was famously assassinated in 1963, as was RFK’s dad while running for president five years later.

The 70-year-old was born in Washington DC and raised in Massachusetts. He's had a career as an environmental lawyer, serving as an attorney for a clean water advocacy group that he founded.

Much like his family, he has not shied away from the political arena, endorsing his uncle Ted Kennedy’s senate campaigns, Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, as well as Hillary Cliton’s in 2008.

Now, he is expected to serve as Donald Trump's Health Secretary.

What's his relationship with Trump?

RFK ran his own 2024 presidential campaign as an independent, initially going up against Trump and Kamala Harris.

But during the campaign, RFK dropped out of the race and went on to endorse the Republican nominee.

Trump later promised that RFK would play a “big role” in informing health policy, allowing him to “go wild” on health, food and medicines.

The president-elect has yet to specify what exact role RFK would play, but he is rumoured to be on the shortlist for the role of head of Department of Health and Human Services.

RFK was seen in a video claiming he would take control of federal public health agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health.

For some Americans, it may be concerning given his controversial views on health and medicine.

Why is he so controversial?

RFK has been a loud voice in the anti-vaccination (anti-vax) movement.

He has been accused of spreading vaccine disinformation and made a host of other false claims including that Covid-19 was genetically engineered, that the disease targets specific races, and that vaccines can cause autism. And these are just a few of the wild theories he has floated.

Emily Maitlis says: "He doesn't believe in vaccines. It's not just COVID.

"He doesn't believe in fluoridation... he wants to take the fluoride out of water."

During the presidential campaign, he said a worm got inside and ate part of his brain, causing him to develop severe brain fog and memory loss.

In another, and perhaps funniest, controversy, a video went viral of Kennedy admitting to finding a dead bear cub on the side of the road and loading it in the back of his car.

In it, he explains that he later took a photo with its corpse, went for a steak dinner, and then, when he realised he wouldn’t have time to get it home before a planned trip, he staged the bear’s death to look like a bicycle hit-and-run incident, dumping it in New York's Central Park before heading to the airport.

Jon Sopel describes this as "the dictionary definition of bat shit, f**king crazy."

Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel share their thoughts in The News Agents USA.

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