Updated 07.58 | Published 07.43
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full screenRobert F Kennedy JR and Donald Trump at a rally in October, before the presidential election in which Trump won. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP/TT
Donald Trump nominates the vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the country’s next health minister, writes the president-elect on social media.
“For far too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and pharmaceutical companies that have engaged in fraud, misinformation and disinformation about public health,” the president-elect said in the post.
“Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
If Kennedy is approved by the Senate, he will also become head of the Department of Health and Human Services, which, among other things, makes decisions about approving new medicines, including vaccines.
“Have fun, Bobby”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has in recent years made a series of outbursts about vaccines and promoted conspiracy theories. In recent decades, he has become a leading figure in the global anti-vaccine movement and he has, among other things, called the covid-19 vaccine “the deadliest thing ever made”.
Even before Trump won the election, he announced that Kennedy would have an “important role” in health care.
– He will help make America healthy again. . . . He wants to do certain things and we’re going to let him do it, Trump said in his victory speech.
– Have fun, Bobby.
Candidates in the presidential election
Kennedy has previously said that Trump wants him to “clean up corruption” in health authorities, and for them to return to policies that are based on science.
Kennedy is the son of Robert F “Bobby” Kennedy who was assassinated while running for the presidency in 1968 and the nephew of President John F Kennedy. He himself ran for the presidency ahead of the fall elections, first as a Democrat and then as an independent candidate, but dropped out to support Trump.