# Could RFK Jr. Really Become HHS Secretary? {Yes, he did} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 30, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451 "2024-10-30T16:19:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/322 "2025-09-05T17:54:36Z")
The really hardcore MAGA, the ones that booed Trump at rallies, are very antivax, but Trump voters in general don’t necessarily lean that way. So, the RFK Jr appointment may have been a miscalculation if it was meant to cater to voters and help carry the Republicans into midterm victories. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/323 "2025-09-05T18:13:07Z")
One thing to note is that Kennedy is a Liberal who was brought in with MAGA, because of his popularity with the anti-vax crowd who were angry about vaccine mandates during Covid. Donald Trump is the guy who created and oversaw Project Warpspeed and released partially-tested Covid-19 vaccines on the United States, which were consequently pushed by the mandates. You have to work around a lot of plain reality to be a MAGA… ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/324 "2025-09-05T18:51:37Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > You have to work around a lot of plain reality to be a MAGA… Or just ignore it entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/325 "2025-09-05T21:09:33Z")
Yeah the disconnection is total at this point ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/326 "2025-09-05T22:27:54Z")
I have a hard time catching all RFK Jr said and I can’t listen to his voice for long. Even fewer seconds than Trump. But this is totally comical, as polio is nothing to do with mammals, chickens or insects or DDT. It is strictly a human disease: “Poliomyelitis does not affect any species other than humans.[23] The disease is caused by infection with a member of the genus Enterovirus known as poliovirus (PV). This group of RNA viruses colonize the gastrointestinal tract.” Wikipedia ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/327 "2025-09-06T02:35:11Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > So, the RFK Jr appointment may have been a miscalculation if it was meant to cater to voters and help carry the Republicans into midterm victories. It was a quid pro quo for Junior’s support in 2024, plus a general ploy to engage Trump fans who bitterly resent competent professionals, and fits into Trump’s desire to tear things down in revenge on everyone and everything he sees as his enemies. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/328 "2025-09-06T02:51:12Z")
Semi-relevant: Trump just said that Florida’s ending vaccine mandates wasn’t a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/329 "2025-09-06T03:06:44Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Trump just said that Florida’s ending vaccine mandates Yep: [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article311993254.html](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article311993254.html) I should have seen that coming, but did not. MAHA world will not be pleased. Trump wants the next POTUS to ideally be a Trump family member and certainly not DeSantis. I think that’s the big motive, although slowing down RFK Jr – who surely agrees with DeSantis on this – would be a plus.. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/330 "2025-09-06T03:23:14Z")
Why is this dipstick so freaking obsessed with autism? Does he have a child with it? It seems like this is his great white whale, to find something to blame autism on, science be damned. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/331 "2025-09-06T11:56:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why is this dipstick so freaking obsessed with autism? Does he have a child with it? It seems like this is his great white whale, to find something to blame autism on, science be damned. I hate to try and pyschoanalize him. The only good thing he did in his life is fight for the environment as a lawyer. That led him down the rabbit hole (worm hole?) of everything manmade we come in contact with is bad. Since autism is such a bugaboo for those who think similarly it was pretty easy for him to jump on that bandwagon. That doesn’t explain the bear cub or the whale head or frolicking in contaminated water or driving his ex-wife to kill herself or…. Maybe it was the drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/332 "2025-09-06T12:14:25Z")
His own family thinks he should resign. [https://www.axios.com/2025/09/05/robert-f-kennedys-nephew-calls-resign](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/05/robert-f-kennedys-nephew-calls-resign) ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/333 "2025-09-06T12:16:51Z")
There are insect parasites that manipulate their hosts’ behavior in ways that are destructive to the host but favor reproduction of the parasite. Looking at RFK’s actions, I can’t help but wonder if the worm isn’t still alive and pulling the strings. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/334 "2025-09-06T12:27:10Z")
I saw a meme yesterday, a picture of JFK giving his inaugural address. The text was: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what the hell is wrong with my nephew!” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/335 "2025-09-06T12:41:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Since autism is such a bugaboo for those who think similarly it was pretty easy for him to jump on that bandwagon. I guess him now pointing the finger at Acetaminophen as the reason, goes to his “everything man-made we come in contact with is bad” However, it undermines a lot of what he claimed before about vaccines and autism, so there is less reason for him to keep his asinine position against vaccines. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/336 "2025-09-06T15:21:36Z")
Senator Collins (who voted to confirm RFK Jr.) now has a partner in brow-furrowing. Senator John Barrasso (a physician who also voted to confirm RFK Jr.) is now “deeply concerned” about RFK’s vaccine policies: > “Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned,” said Barrasso. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/rfk-vaccines-raucous-senate-hearing-1.7625329](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/rfk-vaccines-raucous-senate-hearing-1.7625329) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/337 "2025-09-06T15:42:24Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The only good thing he did in his life is fight for the environment as a lawyer. That led him down the rabbit hole (worm hole?) of everything manmade we come in contact with is bad. And also everything that comes from ‘corporation science’. In that, some harder line factions of both environmental progressives AND conservatives share the notion that any Establishment Science recommendation is only so because the scientist is being paid off by someone profiting from it. … Also… grandad Joe Kennedy crippled his own daughter through a procedure we now call junk science but that in its time was widely used and even Nobel-awarded. I would not write that off as an influence. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/338 "2025-09-06T16:06:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why is this dipstick so freaking obsessed with autism? Does he have a child with it? It seems like this is his great white whale, to find something to blame autism on, science be damned. Antivax advocacy, including the exploitation of parents of autistic children, has proven to be [an excellent grift](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/22/rfk-jr-financial-disclosures) for Junior, both from his “Children’s Health Defense” and legal work. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Senator Collins (who voted to confirm RFK Jr.) now has a partner in brow-furrowing. > > Senator John Barrasso (a physician who also voted to confirm RFK Jr.) is now “deeply concerned” about RFK’s vaccine policies: > > > “Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned,” said Barrasso. > > [RFK Jr. grilled by both Republicans and Democrats during raucous hearing | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/rfk-vaccines-raucous-senate-hearing-1.7625329) In the absence of concrete action, they can stuff their “deep concern” where the sun don’t shine. Why is the recent history of physicians in Congress littered with such jackasses? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/339 "2025-09-06T16:17:52Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Why is the recent history of physicians in Congress littered with such jackasses? I’m going to hazard a guess that they went into politics because they were terrible, terrible doctors. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/340 "2025-09-06T16:47:20Z")
I guess the Tylenol thing pairs well with the whole pregnancy is supposed to painful because of Eve thing. Pretty clever on RFK Jr, or whoever is whispering in his ear’s part ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451/341 "2025-09-07T16:40:03Z")
Could the makers of Tylenol sue JFK into oblivion? He’s making false statements that will materially harm their business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-rfk-jr-really-become-hhs-secretary-yes-he-did/1009451.md?page=18)