Every single day, we’re being terrorized by Donald Trump’s appointment announcements. From the white nationalist Fox News bro as Secretary of Defense to a credibly accused statutory rapist and trafficker for Attorney General, Donald Trump is truly going balls to the walls to find the worst people for his cabinet. Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet was famously “the team of rivals.” Trump’s cabinet is the Team of Degenerates. That being said, I expected it to be really bad. All of this has met my expectations thus far. There hasn’t been one name, one appointment, where I’ve been like “whoa, that’s shocking!” Trump literally told everyone what he was going to do and now he’s doing it. Speaking of, Trump will nominated Robert Kennedy Jr. for the head of Health and Human Services.
President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former presidential candidate and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The pick, which will roil many public health experts, comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild” with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid to endorse the now-president-elect. It’s also a sign of the opening Trump sees after he scored a decisive electoral victory and Republicans won a comfortable majority in the Senate.
“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,” Trump posted on X. “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.”
Kennedy, 70, may still face a steep slope to confirmation after his years of touting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, 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.
Since we’re in the darkest f–king timeline, I guess it’s okay to admit something: I actually thought it was a smart political move for Trump to publicly court Kennedy and ask for his endorsement when it was clear Kennedy was hurting Republicans and not Democrats. As a purely political move – I’m not talking about science, morality or ethics – the way Trump positioned his political alliance with Kennedy was one of the few smart decisions he made this year. A lot of absolutely batsh-t people were going to vote for Kennedy. Trump ensured that those batsh-tters voted for him, with the guarantee that he would put Kennedy in his cabinet and put him in charge of everything health-related. Anyway, yeah, the whole thing is predictably bonkers. I actually think Trump will get tired of Elon Musk and Matt Gaetz much sooner than he’ll get tired of Kennedy. Unless Kennedy starts decapitating animals in and around the White House (but I’m not sure that would be a dealbreaker for Trump). Brain Worm: 1, Science: 0.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931273662, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931273870, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931274215, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931274245, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931274837, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- GLENDALE, ARIZONA, USA – 23 August 2024 – Former President of the United States Donald Trump and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (who has endorsed Trump) speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, USA -,Image: 931274857, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Gage Skidmore / Avalon
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- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. holds hands with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines as they depart the funeral of his Mother, Ethel Kennedy, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle Featuring: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Cheryl Hines Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 16 Oct 2024 Credit: CNP/INSTARimages **NO DAILY MAIL. NO New York or New Jersey Newspapers.**
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- Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden attracting many Trump supporters, causing many long lines and clashes with rigorous security provided by the NYPD Featuring: Robert F. Kennedy Jr Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 27 Oct 2024 Credit: TheNews2/Cover Images
Bonkers and dangerous!
I live in the UK now but pity the fools (and not so foolish) that die and suffer badly from the next round of viruses. You know there coming.
Already here but being ignored. Bird flu has jumped to humans and there have been several infections where the person had no contact w farm animals. Anyone think rfk jr will support research into a vaccine like the ones that saved us from an even bigger Covid disaster?
Okay. Trump courting RFK (who might have been running to siphon off Democrat votes in the first place for the Republiscums) was tactically clever without assigning any moral or humanitarian judgment. But, OMG, this is a flipping disaster! My expectations were low, and while this specific post was not unexpected, I am actually shocked by many of the others. Specifically with RFK: clinical trials for medications, preventing past and future diseases, dental health…this is pretty dire for healthcare in a developed evonomy.
Well, the Predatory Presidential days are officially here. God help us all.
I have no idea if gop outrage is genuine or performative, but these choices are proof he’ll do everything he said. His choices are all we’re talking about. They’re not even in office. We’re frakked. I hope we’re all ready to watch this turnover.
Seeing the two of them on the same screen, I am reminded how badly a spray tan can go.
Team Worm.
Thank you for continuing to cover this march into ruin. Because I cannot handle mainstream coverage of this nomination that would not have the words “batshit” “crazy” and “batshit crazy” appropriately describing everything in this nightmare.
and ps, Trump is going to end of tripping himself up denouncing big Pharma and big food.
Say this really really loud for the peeps in the back.
Is it going to end up that big pharma and big food might have to step in and try to save us because they won’t want to see all those profits start to fall? Are we going to have to rely on them to get their lobbyists to lean on the Rethuglican Senators to block these nominations?
This is really the timeline we are in. Sigh.
There is mall issue here – then big Pharma will only research medications for popular diseases, the rare ones will stay untreated.
Yeah, I agree the Kennedy endorsement helped Trump politically. He wrapped up the all important lunatic vote. The farther we get from the election the more I understand what happened here. And it’s truly horrifying. Half of the American public is either stewed in lies and too lazy to seek out facts or they’re just dangerously nuts. Either way, it’s doomed the rest of us to a hell we tried desperately to avoid. We could have had the smiling Black lady who would have helped us and lived in actual reality. I hope she can find another role in public life where she can help us. Because right now, everything sucks.
“The smiling Black lady” is a questionable way to reference a strong, qualified, intelligent vice president and presidential candidate.
No offense meant. She is all of those things but also a joyful person in stark contrast to all of these exiles from hell, including Trump himself. The loss of her joyful warrior personality in the face of these horrors is one of the most painful aspects of our current situation. To me, anyway.
“All important lunatic vote” – this is it in a nutshell. I know so many people that I thought were well educated and informed buying into this antivax “do your own research” crapola. Make diseases great again, fools.
I remember watching a video where some of his supporters were so convinced that JFK Jr. would reincarnate and run as his running mate, so having a Kennedy, even though he is the lunatic of the batch, was a huge move for those who aren’t mentally stable.
I understand what you meant – I don’t recall feeling joy about a candidate in my lifetime. Perhaps with Obama, although that was more hope. With Kamala, I felt joy and excitement that there was such a groundswell of support for such an intelligent and qualified FEMALE candidate. And I’m still perplexed as to how all of the support we saw didn’t translate to a win.
She’s currently at more than 73 million votes and counting. That’s not nothing. The narrative that she got crushed is false. Speaking for myself, I didn’t just oppose Trump. I was happily (joyfully!) voting for her. She inspires.
Stock up on you masks & your fluoride. Get ALL of your vaccines and boosters. And tissue paper for bursting into tears intermittently. Hunker down babes — he’s going to cause a lot of deaths.
We have been played for fools by Russia. All they have to do is go “oopsies” with a vial of smallpox (Russia being one of the few remaining countries with smallpox) in a US airport or mall and we are doomed.
White people would rather have America cease to exist than be lead by a black woman. Got it.
We are primed to become laughably and hysterically vulnerable to any dangerous actor or natural public health catastrophe.
I feel like I’m living in a Saturday Night Live skit. I think my only option for now is to keep my Covid-light lifestyle–avoiding major public gatherings, and masking if I go to a rare sporting event. I haven’t been to a movie theater in years. Luckily my circle of friends and family is blesssedly free of Trump cultists. Look out for myself and friends/family and plan a viable exit strategy.
God help us all.
Another dangerous Cabinet pick. HHS Secy is in the line of succession to the presidency. The practice of pulling one member of the Cabinet out for the State of the Union address, where all branches of the government meet in the Capitol, in case of an attack there it leaves that person as the designated survivor and that person becomes president. The crazy picks makes that possibility more scary. Also Christmas has come early for Putin because he has a treasure trove of would be Cabinet members to get kompromat on.
Having to read about the Orange Menace’s cabinet appointments is sad, enraging, disgusting — all at once.
Having RFK Jr run the Department of Health and Human Services, and the CDC, FDA, and NIH into the ground is going to cost *a lot* of lives, and this is neither a threat nor a promise, just a fact.
The most ironic thing is that RFK Jr. doesn’t believe in medical progress like water fluoridation, or vaccines — and hates scientific evidence, but he is clearly using steroids. And all kinds of different drugs.
The madmen have taken control of the asylum.
Well, he was a heroin addict for about 14 years, which kind of puts his anti-vaccine stance in perspective. We’re so f*cked.
Well its like Trump ranting about food additives and dangerous chemicals as he lives on….McDonalds.
Trump is seeking revenge on us all ~ that’s his plan
HHS has to go through 2 separate confirmations because of the importance of the job. There is no way in hell he gets confirmed. Trump knows this but he is nominating all the batsh-t nutters he made campaign promises to. He will throw his hands in the air when none of them are confirmed and say “I gave you a cabinet position like I promised, I have no control over who gets in” . Even Republicans are giving these people the side-eye
I can’t see the AMA, state medical societies, and hospital associations accepting this guy to run Medicare.
Several Kennedy siblings disowned him yesterday
Can RFKJB get in through recess appointment? And what of big pharma, they’ll have something to say about vaccines and birth control?
I live in a bubble. My friends are all Democrats as are many family members. So is my expat community. I had Never Trump relatives–they are ALL independents now and most of them voted straight blue this past election. Then I have s contingent of mAGA relatives, which makes me glad I live across an ocean for most major holidays. I thought, given the enthusiasm and from what everyone around me was saying, Harris would win.
Apparently, my MAGA relatives like RFK Jr?! I have no idea what their thoughts are about the rest, but my mind has been blown again. For those of you in the States or with a more representative network pf Americans than I have: How are regular voters responding to what Trump is doing? Does TFG felon have a lot of support?
What do you mean by “regular voters”? Everyone I know is horrified. Many people that I know are terrified. A few are rich enough and far enough away from the epicenters of politics to be able to make long range plans for hunkering down and doing ok . But I’m Black, female, and unlikely to hear about the deepest feelings of MAGA voters, or even from those who flirt with white supremacy in other ways.
Yes, I’m scared and really fricking upset! I’m living under a nightmare government in Europe (though it might collapse soon), and my loved ones are going through hell by you.
My mom had a medical emergency shortly before the elections, so I flew to the States with my kids. Tbh, what I saw looked fairly positive for Harris and just about everyone I interacted in Georgia was voting for her and proud to do so.
Regular voters…my clunky way of asking how people you know, how the town where you live is responding. It’s like I work remote–still connected to my company, but I have no idea what’s actually going on in the office. As an expat, my info comes frim my loved ones, news, and here. I just cannot wrap my head around what a disaster this is, which we saw coming, and I would love to know if regular people who might not be MAGAfied (a few of those in my family have had their brains warped by worse than RFK’s worm) are like, “STOP HIM,” or just ho-humming.
To add: You might find this article interesting. While the title describes “young men” — as near as I can tell, this focuses completely on young white men.
https://www.glamour.com/story/why-did-young-men-vote-for-donald-trump
Thanks for the article, Blithe. I have to say it set my teeth on edge, and I have no sympathy for those guys. RFK is really into health and a good pick?? What?! Do these guys not understand that our food industry runs on cheap, poorly protected illegal immigrants? What tariffs do to the economy they’re so upset about? That thinking abortion is a women’s issue only might be problematic? That if everyone gets a seat at thr table they too will be subjected to the identity politics everyone else has been? The stupidity is really concerning!
The only real mistake my friend thinks Harris was made was not being Machiavellian enough to court RFK. She thinks she should have promised him some small role and then put him in some unimportant. I don’t know, ultimately, if it would have helped her, but I will always wonder if this is one place having principles went against her.
Aside from agreeing with everything above, my gut is currently asking where the hell is the vp elect? He seems to have gone to the wind and he’s possibly scarier than any cabinet pick of the Orange Menace. And he’s scarily close to being the main guy. I don’t like it when sociopathic f**kers like him go to ground. There’s a plan afoot. My Spidey senses are tingling.
RFK Jr.’s fearmongering about vaccines led to deaths in Samoa. A measles outbreak on the island ended up infecting more than 57,000 people and killing 83, including children. And he was responsible because his organization led an anti-vaccine campaign there.
People are going to die because of this appointment.
Pharmaceutical companies are big GOP donors so let’s see how this will play out. It is already hurting the stock market.
The time to invest in whatever companies make pediatric coffins and headstones is now. We are generations removed from children dying in huge numbers from now-preventable diseases so no one alive today remembers what that looked like.
I’ve often thought that when news outlets cover outbreaks, they should show exactly what it looks like when children get severe cases of these preventable diseases.
God help us. We are hoping big pharma will be the heroes in this story. But I agree that is probably our best hope. If the GOP senators won’t kill his nomination on principal, we can only hope they do it out of craven self interest.
BTW, he also wants to eliminate (or severely limit) access to SSRI antidepressants and ADHD medication . Those are worth squillions of dollars to the drug companies.
Most large Pharma company donations are pretty evenly split between the parties.
There are some that skew heavily to the GOP Bayer (65% GOP 35% Dem), Sanofi (63% GOP 37% Dem), Allergan (82% GOP 13% Dem – perhaps this explains Gaetz’s bad botox), Abbot (59% GOP to 41% Dem)
Companies that skew heavily to dems: Regeneron (68% Dem to 32% GOP), Vertex (70% Dem to 30% GOP)
Companies that have a substantive vaccines portfolio are evaluating this as are NGOs that help get those vaccines to underserved countries. The US is the largest market followed by China, if Kennedy bans or even significantly limits vaccines in the US, that means even less of those (if any) will get to places where people know they need them
I can tell you that people in clinical R & D at most of those companies are very concerned about the increased science denialism and damage to the health of America that will come about with RFK Jr at DHHS and his trying to meddle in the FDA (not to mention how that can impact programs for drugs we are developing to address unmet needs).
To quote someone on Reddit, this isn’t a cabinet, it’s a junk drawer.
Those of us over 65 have major concerns. Medicare, Medicaid and drug price controls are all on the chopping block. All of Biden’s initiatives to help us can be cancelled.
This is the same person who (wholeheartedly) believes that *chemicals* will turn you transgender 🙇🏻♀️
Everyday brings news of fresh hell. Even though it’s a few weeks away but it is terrifying. I told my sister who is a nurse to be wary of moving to NY. She’s South East Asian and a nurse so probably not the best combo for some people and with dump and his ilk taking power next year, I have very low expectations. God help us all. It’s going to be a rough ride to say the least and I’m not sure if American democracy will survive after 4 years or go that way of authoritarian governments that dump idolizes