RFK Jr for Trump’s Department of Health

Elodie Reeves

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

Figure 1. Robert F. Kennedy Junior

ADHD is a complex disorder afflicting millions of children and adults all over the world - particularly those in the West – with diagnoses continuously rising since the 1990s—Trump’s electoral win on 5th November rang alarm bells for many reasons. Given the current climate of America’s healthcare system, with tension between stakeholders, patients going bankrupt footing their medical bill, and all this inflamed by Luigi Mangione’s murder of UnitedHealth Group’s CEO, the secretary chosen for the nation’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is bound to be a salient decision. Robert F Kennedy Jr’s elected position as secretary of HHS is a controversial one, to say the least, and his lack of experience in public health raises serious concerns. 

Kennedy, who lacks public health experience, has many opinions on those diagnosed with ADHD and taking medication for it. A figure who still obtains that vaccines directly cause autism and believes that our phone’s 5G causes ‘almost unimaginably devastating impacts on our health’, the same unconventional tone follows his proposed alternative treatments to ADHD. Funded by money accumulated through cannabis sales tax, he suggests ‘wellness farms’ for (most likely young) individuals to be stripped from their phones to ‘reconnect with communities’ in the outdoors, growing organic food for ‘three or four years if they need it’. In the podcast with Latino Town Hall, where he launched the idea, he suggests that many behavioural issues are food-related. Kennedy has also proposed psychedelic drugs, like MDMA, for use in mental health treatments despite the evidence that they lack success and can induce suicidal thoughts.

Kennedy himself suffered from inattention at university, suggesting in a podcast he’d ‘probably today be diagnosed with ADHD’. Despite this and our expectation for his sympathy with like-minded individuals, he still sits at the opposing pole to Adderall, alternatively adopting the treatment of heroin. ‘Suddenly I could sit still, and I could read, and I could concentrate’, he claimed. An original approach indeed… 

Kennedy himself suffered from inattention at university, suggesting in a podcast he’d ‘probably today be diagnosed with ADHD’. Despite this and our expectation for his sympathy with like-minded individuals, he still sits at the opposing pole to Adderall, alternatively adopting the treatment of heroin. ‘Suddenly I could sit still, and I could read, and I could concentrate’, he claimed. An original approach indeed… 

He is entirely sceptical of status-quo treatments like Adderall or SSRIs for other mental health disorders, falling back on theories related to food and chemical toxicity, which were rampant in 1970s America. Such theories ranged from claiming that ADHD is caused by sugar, food dye, and lead poisoning, thus popularising the concept of the Feingold diet (a diet eradicating processed or dyed foods). Keen ideas for organic livelihoods were possibly born from his previous career as an environmental lawyer, but they are undoubtedly unconventional in American healthcare.  

ADHD is ubiquitous, and whilst possessing a controversial history, its medications used today help many children and adults either at school, work or in general life. Kennedy’s farms, however, are unlikely to help. The Futurism blog has even suggested that his wellness farms mirror labour camps.

His election as secretary for HSS has sparked fear in some Americans. However, for others, his political conjunction with Trump made Trump supporters who were initially unenthusiastic genuinely enthusiastic. Kennedy’s typical zealots, labelled the (once left) right-wing ‘crunchy’ by the New York Times, share his same passion for organic food and ‘freedom’ regarding their health. In removing the (popular and often only) ADHD treatment, prescription medication, however, Kennedy would leave millions already afflicted by America’s current Adderall shortage at a loss for coping with their disorder. 

Whilst there is some grain of truth in some of his ideas around the health benefits of organic diets, Kennedy’s lack of medical experience and absurd opinions are factors to bear in mind for the future of both America’s healthcare and its globally higher-than-average ADHD-diagnosed population. Considering that 77 Nobel laureates - who often stay detached from politics - have signed a letter arguing to reject Kennedy as HSS secretary for such reasons, Trump’s choice of RFK Jr is not just controversial but also concerning.

In the Todd Ault podcast, Kennedy suggested, whilst drawing comparisons to his uncle’s presidency, ‘we’re poisoning an entire generation with bad food and processed foods’, after which the crowd applauded. In asking ‘why’ doctors are prescribing Adderall and SSRIs today, a question with many complicated answers, Kennedy’s reply of ‘wellness farms’ is the incorrect approach. 

With post-COVID-19 social media being swallowed by the craze for raw beef, high-protein diets and 10-step skincare routines comprising ice and crystal gushes, health is an important virtue in all our lives. Beyond this, these crazes illuminate how ‘health’ is a concept particularly prone to social media trends and disinformation. It also demonstrates that anti-conventional ‘natural’ health paradigms are rising. Kennedy’s position as HSS, then, is undoubtedly a polemical one.

Given the rise of the crunchy far-right, ADHD diagnoses, trending healthcare posts, and financial burden inked into the papers of American health insurance contracts, Kennedy’s unconventional and radical views will likely add fuel to the fire. What’s more dangerous than Kennedy’s suggested processed foods is instead his ability to override the FDA and implement proposals hazardous to America’s ADHD-diagnosed and general population. The potential consequences of his proposals, such as the proliferation of unproven treatments and the undermining of established medical practices, could have serious implications for public health.