Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime conspiracy theorist and vaccine opponent, now has the ear of President-elect Donald Trump to promote what he’s calling the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
It’s an unlikely alliance between the Kennedy family scion, once a celebrated environmental champion who called for prosecuting climate change deniers, and the returning Republican leader.
What they share, however, is a profound distrust of institutions.
Trump announced Thursday he would nominate Kennedy to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services, fulfilling a campaign promise to award the 70-year-old a “big role in healthcare” that raised alarm in public health circles.
Not long ago Kennedy was a high-powered climate attorney and was even in the mix to become former president Barack Obama’s first environment chief.
This makes him a complex figure, some experts say.
In recent days, he’s tried to allay fears, telling NPR, “We’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody,” while adding, “We are …