Christopher Luxon discussed his phone call with Donald Trump during an interview with Mike Hosking. Video / Newstalk ZB
Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy jnr as health secretary.
Kennedy will declare a Covid-style public health emergency on his first day on the job.
He pledges to overhaul the country’s approach to vaccines, fluoride in water, and processed foods.
Robert F. Kennedy jnr said he would declare a Covid-style public health emergency on his first day in office ahead of his appointment as Donald Trump’s Health Secretary.
The President-elect tapped Kennedy jnr to take charge of the country’s health policy under his administration.
Kennedy haspledged to introduce sweeping reforms, vowing to overhaul the country’s approach to vaccines, fluoride in water and processed foods.
Speaking on the campaign trail for Trump and JD Vance in September, Kennedy, 70, said: “On day one, we’re going to declare an emergency like we did in Covid, and it’s going to be a chronic disease emergency.
US President-elect Donald Trump (left) has nominated Robert F. Kennedy jnr (right) to be his health and human services secretary. Photo / AFP
“We’re going to get the fluoride out of the water, we’re going to get the chemicals out of the food, we’re going to get the chemicals out of the chemtrails.”
Chemtrails are trails of condensation left in the sky by aircraft.
Addressing a crowd in Las Vegas, he continued: “There’s 1000 ingredients in our food that are banned in Europe, and we’re going to get rid of all those chemicals.”
A former Democrat who campaigned for Barack Obama, Kennedy ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race before dropping out to endorse Trump.
His appointment has alarmed some public health experts and comes after Trump promised to let him “go wild” with health policy in his administration.
“He’s going to help make America healthy again. He wants to do some things, and we’re going to let him get to it,” Trump said in his victory speech.
A long-time vaccine sceptic, Kennedy is an attorney known for filing lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies and has called for stricter regulations around the ingredients in foods.
Under his new brief, he will be in command of a sprawling agency that employs more than 80,000 staff and oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programmes Medicare and Medicaid.
I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it…
Announcing the appointment on Truth Social, Trump said: “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health”.
“Mr Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold standard scientific research, and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to make America great and healthy again.”
Questions over vaccines
The appointment throws up questions about the future of American policy on key aspects of public health, particularly over vaccines.
Kennedy, nephew of John F. Kennedy, has repeatedly shared misinformation on the subject. He once said “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has pushed the discredited theory childhood vaccines cause autism.
During the pandemic, he urged people to “resist” guidelines on when children should be vaccinated.
Thank you @realDonaldTrump for your leadership and courage. I'm committed to advancing your vision to Make America Healthy Again.
We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic…
He has also pledged to strip fluoride from drinking water. The chemical has been added to water to improve dental health for decades, but Kennedy has in recent weeks claimed it is causing arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.
A US Government report published earlier this year suggested consuming fluoride in large quantities was linked to lower IQ. Many European countries have also cut back on artificially increasing fluoride levels.
As part of his planned crackdown on processed food, Kennedy has voiced frustration about the amount of federal food assistance for low-income Americans that goes towards sugary drinks and processed food.
The new health secretary has even criticised the diet of the President-elect in recent days, describing his preference for fast food and fizzy drinks as “poison”.
“The stuff that he eats is really, like, bad,” Kennedy told the Joe Polish Show.
Kennedy’s stance on vaccines has made him a divisive figure among both Democrats and Republicans and raises questions over whether he will be confirmed for the position — a process requiring Senate approval.
His nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defence, is currently pursuing legal action against a range of news organisations for their efforts to identify misinformation about the Covid vaccines.
He has written a book accusing former National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci of conspiring with tech mogul Bill Gates and drugmakers to sell Covid-19 vaccines and said regulatory officials are industry puppets who should be removed.
Kennedy has also railed against the Food and Drug Administration’s “aggressive suppression” of psychedelics and raw milk while claiming food dyes cause cancer.
