“Most famous vaccine skeptic on the planet” RFK Jr. walked so Donald Trump could run. Trump now firmly holds that title after signing a lie-packed executive order this week demanding the MMR vaccine that’s saved countless children’s lives be broken up over several extra doctor visits based on widely debunked autism risks.
The blowback was immediate and deafening from doctors, medical experts, scientists, Democratic lawmakers, the conservative WSJ editorial board, Trump’s former surgeon general and on and on. They warn kids could very well die from increased exposure to preventable disease. Shots and appointments will be missed for many reasons including added out-of-pocket costs, time, and hassle which Trump has no plan to deal with. Frightened families will take Trump’s fabricated autism claims serious enough to avoid shots altogether, dragging down vaccination rate further and invite more record-breaking outbreaks of diseases like measles. All in all, it’s the most egregious act of self-sabotage against public health from a president in memory.
Whether or not state health departments follow Trump’s ghoulish anti-vax guidance, American kids will get seriously ill or killed for no reason. Yet the vast majority of Republicans in Congress are either celebrating the move or keeping unconscionably quiet about it. Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse warned these profiles in cowardice cannot escape the political consequences for enabling Trump: “There is not a Republican running for office anywhere in America who isn’t going to pay a price for this.”
The WSJ editorial board too sees the blue writing on the wall: “Mr. Trump’s jab at children’s vaccines could alienate voters who are already souring on his second term. The other risk: more measles.”
Where’s The “Pro-Science” CDC Director At? Last week, CDC Director Schwartz was confirmed by the Senate after vowing to ‘follow the science’ when it comes to vaccine guidance. Yet Dr. Schwartz was conspicuously absent for Trump’s anti-vax executive order signing. Apparently, the White House hasn’t even bothered to swear her in yet. Is that because Trump and RFK Jr didn’t want to run their science-denying, child-endangering decree by her first — or because she didn’t want to be proven a phony within her first hours as Director?
Holy Shit: The latest CDC data shows explosive-diarrhea-causing, sometimes-deadly cyclosporiasis cases are up nearly 1,100% compared to last year. And try not to get sick to your stomach reading the list of “government recalls and alerts for contaminated food or skipped inspections during Trump’s second term.”
Still no apology from Health Secretary Kennedy for Trump’s short-sighted cuts to CDC and FDA safety nets that preceded their inept and delayed response to this major foodborne-illness crisis. Instead, he’s been busy making more empty food-related promises to MAHA that once again have failed to impress.
In The News
Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Public Health Threats
Ebola
- Associated Press: Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, WHO chief says
Cyclosporiasis and Foodborne Illnesses
- Politico: Fear of lettuce is making RFK Jr.’s food messaging harder for consumers to swallow
- Wall Street Journal: Taylor Farms Recalls Products With Jalapeños Implicated in Salmonella Outbreak
The GOP War on Vaccines Will Have Deadly Consequences
Trump and RFK’s Vaccine Announcement
- USA Today: Trump praises vaccine order but critics fear child deaths: What to know
- CIDRAP: Organizations hit back at Trump’s call to reduce childhood vaccines
- MS Now (Dr. Martha Edwards and Dr. Deborah Greenhouse): Opinion: We’re pediatricians who vaccinated our children and grandchildren. Trust us over Trump.
- Wall Street Journal (Editorial): Opinion: Trump Jabs at Vaccines for Children
- Axios: Trump dives headfirst back into vaccine minefield
- Bloomberg: Trump Vaccine Order Poses Years-Long Hurdles for Manufacturers
- Reuters: Trump’s goal to split MMR vaccine could take a decade, experts say
- Associated Press: Trump’s Vaccine Plan Would Require Millions of Individual Shots Last Used Decades Ago
- Associated Press: FACT FOCUS: Trump makes false claims as he signs order urging revisions around childhood vaccines
- CNN: Fact check: Trump makes numerous false and misleading claims about vaccines and autism
- FactCheck.org: Trump and RFK Jr. Repeat False and Misleading Vaccine Claims
- Stat: WHO says Trump’s latest vaccine policy order is misguided
- Stat: Trump returns to controversial vaccine policy with order questioning childhood schedule
- Politico: Trump redoubles effort to shrink recommended vaccines ahead of midterm elections
- New York Times: Fact-Checking the Trump Administration’s Claims About Vaccines
- NOTUS: Medical Groups Quickly Denounce Trump’s ‘Dangerous’ Vaccine Order
- The Bulwark: Vaccine Lies, Direct from the Oval Office
- The Hill: American Academy of Pediatrics calls Trump vaccine order ‘dangerous’
- The Dispatch: Trump Is the Real Vaccine Skeptic in His Administration
- CBS: NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya says “I trust the science” on childhood vaccines amid measles outbreak
Other Vaccine News
- New York Times: Kennedy Stirred Vaccine Fears in Pennsylvania Years Before Measles Outbreak
- NOTUS: An Antidote to the Anti-Vaccine Movement Lives in Rural West Virginia
- NBC: Fauci’s texts, Trump’s executive order and the resurgence of anti-vaccine rhetoric
Chaos At HHS
Research Cuts
- Stat: NIH plans to block international researchers on visas from accessing key funding avenue
- Nature: NIH limits funding for research on the health effects of public policy
CDC
- Washington Post: RFK Jr. questions scientists, access to data at CDC campus one year after shooting
- Bloomberg: RFK Jr. Criticizes US Covid Response at CDC Shooting Memorial
- Stat (Daniel Jernigan): Opinion: I was in my office when bullets hit the CDC. A year later, the agency remains under attack
RFK’s Agenda
Head Start
- The Independent: RFK Jr says Head Start is his family legacy. Critics say he’s gutting the program that lifts kids out of poverty
- USA Today: As Trump drastically rolls back rules for Head Start, some Republicans are wary
Autism
- MS Now (Joe Scarborough): News Analysis: I have a son on the spectrum. Nothing supports RFK Jr.’s claims about vaccines and autism
Grift and Corruption
RFK, MAHA and the 2026 Elections
- Daily Signal: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sees a Midterms Role for MAHA
- The Hill: Trump puts vaccines on front burner ahead of crucial midterms for GOP
Food Rhetoric
GRAS Announcement
- New York Times: F.D.A. Moves Toward Tighter Restrictions on Food Ingredients
- NBC: RFK Jr. proposes fix to loophole that allows additives into food. Critics say it doesn’t go far enough.
- Wall Street Journal: Food Companies Dodge Crackdown in RFK Jr.’s Proposal on New Additives
- Reason: RFK Jr. Wants More FDA Oversight of Food Ingredients. It Could End Up Costing $210 Million.
- The Daily Mail: ‘MAHA’ claims victory as Kellogg’s announces it will remove controversial coloring ingredient from popular cereals
RFK’s Celebrity Cooking Show
- Washington Post (Emily Heil): Opinion: I tried the recipe from RFK Jr.’s cooking show. Here’s what I learned (and didn’t).
- The Free Press (River Page): I Made RFK Jr.’s Salmon Cakes. They Were Bad.
- Bloomberg (Deena Shanker): Opinion: RFK Jr.’s Cooking Show Is One Long, Boring Political Ad
Other Headlines That Caught Our Eye:
- New York Post: RFK Jr.’s doctor says proper poops (like his) are wipe-free and ‘nearly orgasmic’
- The Hill: Rubio calls RFK Jr’s meat and sauerkraut menu ‘a crazy diet’
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