Summary
Overview
Michael Scherer, an Atlantic staff writer, discusses his in-depth profile of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., exploring how Kennedy transformed from a celebrated environmental lawyer and Democratic prince into the nation's controversial HHS Secretary and prominent anti-vaccine advocate. The conversation examines Kennedy's psychological drivers, his relationship with Trump, and the dangerous public health implications of his crusade against vaccines and medical institutions.
Kennedy's Journey from Democratic Prince to MAGA Ally
Michael Scherer explains the premise behind his Atlantic cover story: understanding how RFK Jr. went from being a Democratic environmental hero and potential "next senator from New York" to standing beside Donald Trump as HHS Secretary. Kennedy's transformation involved opportunism, self-convincing that Trump wasn't the "malignant narcissist" he once described, and a belief that he hasn't abandoned his family's liberalism but rather that the Republican Party has adopted the best Democratic issues. This journey required Kennedy to lose his family, friend groups, and the respect of both the environmental and medical communities.
- Kennedy went from being described as potentially "the next senator from New York" and environmental savior to a MAGA ally
- During the 2004 campaign, Kennedy wrote articles calling George W. Bush a fascist, but now believes Trump is the greatest president since JFK
- Kennedy convinced himself Trump is a "brave populist" rather than someone who "appeals to the darkest forces of our nature"
- Kennedy has faced enormous backlash, losing his family, friends, environmental community support, and earning derision from the medical establishment
" He has made that journey for a number of complicated reasons. On the political front, it was opportunism. He was given a chance to do what he has always wanted to do, which is to change how we approach medical policy in this country, particularly around vaccines. "
From Environmental Activism to Conspiracy Theorist
Kennedy's evolution from environmental lawyer to conspiracy theorist has consistent threads rooted in his 1960s childhood, the JFK assassination conspiracy, and his work as a trial lawyer exposing corporate evil. Mothers concerned about thimerosal in vaccines approached him in the early 2000s, and he became convinced of a grand conspiracy where pharmaceutical companies knowingly poison children for profit. Kennedy merged his controversial vaccine views with broader, more bipartisan concerns about America's broken medical system, pharmaceutical company profits, and rising chronic disease rates.
- Kennedy grew up with conspiracy awareness, including the JFK assassination and Pentagon Papers, which formed his worldview
- His environmental work focused on contamination of rivers and air, which mothers connected to vaccine contamination concerns in the early 2000s
- Kennedy became convinced pharmaceutical companies are knowingly seeding the health system with things that hurt kids
- Seven in ten Americans believe the medical system is primarily about making insurance and pharmaceutical companies profits rather than making us healthier
" The dynamic of being a trial lawyer is you're basically exposing what occurs to you as evil. These are companies that are choosing to poison people for profit. And so that idea that there is good and evil and that my role is to fight in an almost like mythical sense between these powers is given to him in the 80s. "
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