Robert F. Kennedy has clarified his role in a potential second Trump administration. The former Democrat told Tucker Carlson that he would be charged with rooting out “corrupt influences” from federal agencies and “draining the swamp.” Mr. Kennedy specifically named the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as agencies he may work on, and where he will remove and replace staff members.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, however, said such talk was premature. “President Trump will choose the best people for his Cabinet to undo all the damage that Kamala Harris has done to our country,” she added.
Kennedy recently sat down with Carlson for the second time, having initially conducted a lengthy interview after giving his backing to Donald Trump in August. In last month’s discussion, Kennedy explained that Trump had asked him to join his transition team, which usually means helping to select staff members for a new administration.
The possibility that Kennedy will influence the CDC, NIH, and FDA has raised some eyebrows, given his ardent and long-term opposition to vaccines, which some people dismiss as a “conspiracy theory.” During a July discussion between Trump and Kennedy, which Mr. Kennedy posted online, the former President stated that vaccinations change children “radically” and that he has “seen it too many times.” Mr. Kennedy, meanwhile, insists that there are no safe vaccines, prompting criticism and condemnation from his own family.
Maeve Kennedy McKean, Kennedy’s niece, issued a joint statement with Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and former Massachusetts Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, saying that the their relative’s rhetoric presents challenges to public health officials because it makes people more afraid of vaccines than the diseases they prevent. “We don’t need measles outbreaks to remind us of the value of vaccination,” the statement read.
Mr. Kennedy responded, saying he is not anti-vaccine but pro-science and wants to approach the topic with an open mind. He added that accusing him of pushing “conspiracy theories” is an attempt to silence him.
