Republican United States presidential candidate Donald Trump recently suggested Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might oversee a health portfolio in a potential future administration.
Speaking at a recent rally in Madison Square Garden in New York, Trump promised he would let RFK Jr “go wild on health, go wild on food and go wild on medicines” but failed to elaborate on his specific role.
RFK Jr has been vocal about medical freedom and has expressed scepticism about what he describes as “unsafe vaccines”. He has already made promises to the American people, including the removal of fluoride from water supplies, a move that Trump has endorsed.
At a Nevada rally on Thursday night, Trump suggested RFK Jr’s portfolio would extend to “women’s health”, intensifying backlash from Democrats already outraged by Republican-driven rollbacks of abortion rights.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is well-known for his criticism and scepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine and other immunisations. Source: AAP / Jose Luis Magana/AP
Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr?
RFK Jr, whose father was US senator Robert F Kennedy and whose uncle was US president John F Kennedy, dropped out of the presidential race in late August and then publicly endorsed Trump — drawing criticism from his own family.
Since then, he has been openly campaigning for a key position in a potential Trump-led government, with hopes to “make America healthy again”.
A former environmental lawyer, RFK Jr is one of the country’s top vaccine critics and has openly criticised the US Food and Drug Administration’s drug review process.
Revisiting the Affordable Care Act
During his first term, Trump made repeated attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare — a comprehensive healthcare reform law enacted in 2010 under then-president Barack Obama.
Its primary goals are to make healthcare more affordable and expand health insurance coverage.
Despite failing to fully repeal the ACA previously, a Trump win could reignite efforts to overturn or reshape it.
Trump said the ACA created “burdens”, adding he wanted to “pave the way for real reform, like health savings accounts that empower individuals to choose the customised plan that is truly right for them” in 2017.
Vice President Kamala Harris has warned the American public that if Trump wins the presidential election, he will roll back healthcare protections.
“Part of Donald Trump’s agenda for a very long time … he has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.
“What that would mean to the American people is that insurance companies could go back in time where they could deny you coverage for health insurance based on pre-existing conditions.
“What I know is that the American people — regardless of who they are voting for, know the importance of the Affordable Care Act … in terms of expanding people’s coverage to healthcare, based on a fundamental principle that I hold deeply — access to healthcare should be a right and not just a privilege to those who can afford it.”
