Trump nominates RFK Jr. to remake healthcare.
Consider This from NPR
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4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 November 2024
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
The nomination comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy "go wild on health" during the campaign.
Kennedy holds a number of controversial opinions on health, and promotes a number of scientifically debunked claims like vaccines cause autism, fluoride is poisoning the public water system and AIDS isn't caused by the HIV virus.
Kennedy has long wanted to remake health and healthcare policy in the United States. Soon, he may get his chance.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A month before the election, Donald Trump promised Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a lead role in health and health care in his administration. |
| 0:06.7 | It's such a great honor. I've been friends of his for a long time. And I'm going to let him go wild on health. I'm going to let him go wild on the food. I'm going to let him go wild on medicines. |
| 0:18.1 | Wild is how many health experts would characterize Kennedy's views on health and |
| 0:22.7 | health care, like Dr. Paul Offutt of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who spoke to NPR |
| 0:28.3 | Selena Simmons-Duffin. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a science denialist. He makes up his own |
| 0:34.3 | scientific truths and ignores the actual truths. |
| 0:38.2 | Kennedy has erroneously argued that vaccines can cause autism. That claim, like others, |
| 0:44.5 | has been widely debunked by scientists. Among other questionable assertions Kennedy has made, |
| 0:50.8 | fluoride in the public water system is poison and AIDS isn't caused by the HIV virus. |
| 0:57.2 | These and other controversial or false claims could soon be at the center of federal U.S. health |
| 1:03.4 | policy. |
| 1:04.0 | A little bit of breaking news here. President-elect Trump has just announced on his truth social account |
| 1:08.0 | that he is picking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary |
| 1:12.6 | of health and human services. If the Republican-controlled Senate were to confirm Kennedy as the new |
| 1:18.9 | head of HHS, he would oversee nearly $2 trillion in mandatory spending, as well as agencies like |
| 1:26.1 | the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, |
| 1:28.9 | the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. NPR Stephen Fowler has |
| 1:34.5 | been following the story. The role gives Kennedy the chance to actualize a vision that's often |
| 1:39.3 | at odds with mainstream health and science, likely through a combination of scaling back |
| 1:43.5 | existing programs |
| 1:44.4 | and refocusing others to align with his, quote, make America healthy again goals. |
| 1:50.4 | Consider this. RFK Jr. has long desired to drastically transform health and health care policy |
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