Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s cousin called his vaccine views “dangerous” and contradict what most Americans likely believe.
“I think Bobby’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think most Americans share them,” Caroline Kennedy, who is the U.S. ambassador to Australia, said at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. But I grew up with him, so I’ve known all of this for a long time, and others are just getting to know him.”
Caroline said her family has fought for affordable health care for decades and is “united” in support of the public health sector and has “greatest admiration” for the medical profession ― but RFK Jr. has a “different set of views.”
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The announcement was met with backlash because, for decades, Kennedy has been an anti-vaccine activist, pushing the narrative that vaccines were harmful to children and lead to autism.
His vaccine skepticism has had deathly effects. In 2019, Kennedy visited Samoa, where he lended credibility to anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists. A few months later, Samoa had a measles outbreak, which killed 83 people, most of them children.
Along with being an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy has also promised to remove fluoride from public water, falsely stating that it leads to “arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.” Experts have pushed back on that, adding that fluoride in water saves Americans money in dental costs.
Caroline Kennedy and other Kennedys have been vocal about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views, including Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sister.
Caroline Kennedy’s son, Jack Schlossberg, blasted RFK Jr. last year when he was running for president.
“He’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” Schlossberg said. “I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is his candidacy is an embarrassment. Let’s not be distracted again by somebody’s vanity project.”