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The former independent candidate’s possible role in a top position under Donald Trump has delighted an unlikely cross-section of supporters
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As one of the most unusual independent White House candidates in decades, he formed a coalition of the environmentally conscious, the libertarian Right, and 9/11 conspiracy theorists.
But after his decision to withdraw and back Donald Trump, Robert F Kennedy Jr has retained another unlikely group of supporters: health influencers.
The nephew of JFK is being lauded as a role model by hordes of Lycra-clad, Stanley-Cup-toting so-called “crunchy moms” who preach organic, seed oil-free diets and back holistic healthcare.
The unlikely support comes after Mr Kennedy was cast out by his family for his decision to run against Joe Biden, and is now in the running for a job in Mr Trump’s second administration.
He is tipped to oversee federal health authorities once the president-elect takes power in January – bringing fresh scrutiny to his controversial views on everything from raw milk to vaccines and tap water.
In a recent video, Mr Kennedy claimed that the US’s relative decline in the global life expectancy league tables since the 1990s can be explained by the explosion in processed foods on grocery store shelves.
He tweeted recently that the Food and Drug Administration’s “war on public health” would end under a second Trump administration.
That message resonates with TikTok health influencers who spend their days lobbying against Froot Loops, Pop Tarts and Kraft Mac & Cheese.
Recent videos show the so-called “crunchy moms” dancing in their kitchens, eating fruit and grinning, all overlaid with the Zach Top song I Never Lie.
“Well, I’ve never been better/Things are going my way/I sleep like a baby,” go the lyrics.
Against that cheerful background, the influencers have added captions about Mr Kennedy.
“Knowing RFK is coming for the food and pharmaceutical industries’ necks,” says one.
Another reads: “How life feels knowing RFK is about to take the food & pharmaceutical agencies by storm.”
The videos, largely by what appear to be otherwise Left-leaning accounts that post content about vegetables and supplements, are a fascinating insight into Mr Kennedy’s appeal.
They, like him, feel that individuals are better able to make decisions about their health – not the federal government and food and drink conglomerates.
Some are also of the opinion that raw milk, which has not been pasteurised to remove bacteria, is healthier for the human body and that an array of expensive and seemingly random ingredients are the solution to a crisis in US public health.
At Mr Trump’s rally in New York in the final days of his campaign, Mr Kennedy made the same argument. He accused the agencies of “corruption” and “giving us the sickest children in the world” and promoting a chronic disease epidemic that has become “existential for our country”.
Mr Kennedy’s conversion to Mr Trump’s cause has created an unexpected connection between online health-conscious voters and the drive to “Make America Great Again”.
It has even spawned a crossover slogan, “Make America Healthy Again,” which has inevitably been shortened to “MAHA”.
In some ways, there are also similarities between the policy positions of Mr Trump and his new rival-turned-supporter.
Both are suspicious of the overreach of federal agencies, especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which caught Mr Trump’s ire during the Covid-19 pandemic that blighted his first term.
Like Mr Trump, Mr Kennedy thinks that some of the agencies are not operating in the best interests of the public – and are instead controlled by shady private interests.
Mr Trump has also adopted some of his talking points, including ending the “chronic illness epidemic,” for which he finds vaccines partly responsible.
If the president-elect is true to his word, Mr Kennedy’s TikTok supporters will soon have an ally at the top of the federal government.
While it remains to be seen if the incoming Trump administration’s health measures contributed to his big win, the trend is indicative of the unusual unifying power of Mr Trump.
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