President Donald Trump is once again breaking from the D.C. script—this time by defending Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. against the predictable attacks from the political establishment.
Speaking to Breitbart News during a South Lawn press gaggle before heading to the U.S. Open final, Trump cut straight to the point. “Well, he’s a different kind of a guy,” Trump said. “He’s got a lot of good ideas, but he’s got a lot of ideas. You know, normally, they don’t have any ideas, and that’s why we have problems with autism and so many other things, because we’re coming up with the answers for autism. You watch.”
The president continued, emphasizing the importance of bold, outside-the-box thinking: “We’re coming up with the answers for other things that normal people, regular people, easy to get along with people, wouldn’t be able to do. He’s got a lot of ideas, and so do I, and we’re going to clean it up.”
Kennedy has already demonstrated a willingness to challenge Big Pharma and entrenched bureaucrats. Last month, he rescinded the emergency use authorizations for coronavirus vaccines, while keeping vaccines available for those who want them after consulting with their doctors. He also demanded that pharmaceutical companies conduct rigorous placebo-controlled trials—an overdue call for transparency in an industry far too comfortable operating behind closed doors. Trump himself, just last week, called for similar transparency from drug makers regarding the effectiveness of coronavirus treatments.
On Capitol Hill, Kennedy has faced fierce resistance from the very lawmakers most dependent on pharmaceutical money. In Senate Finance Committee testimony, he clashed with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who attempted to paint him as irresponsible. Kennedy shot back: “I never promised that I was going to recommend products for which there is no indication, and I know you’ve taken $855,000 from pharmaceutical companies, senator.” His point was clear: he isn’t taking vaccine access away—he’s refusing to rubber-stamp products without the science to back them up.
The establishment’s attacks have been swift and coordinated. Twice-failed presidential candidate Chris Christie appeared on ABC’s This Week to sneer at Kennedy as “foolish” and “wholly unqualified.” Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Warren have joined the chorus. Their outrage reveals more about their loyalties than Kennedy’s competence. Politicians entrenched in the D.C. system—flush with pharmaceutical donations—see Kennedy’s push for accountability as a direct threat to their gravy train.
That is precisely why Trump’s support matters. By calling Kennedy “a different kind of a guy” with “a lot of good ideas,” the president signaled that what the establishment dismisses as dangerous or disruptive may actually be common-sense reform. For millions of Americans tired of bureaucratic arrogance and corporate capture, the Trump-Kennedy alignment on transparency and accountability is a shot across the bow of the swamp.
At a time when families are demanding answers on everything from vaccine safety to skyrocketing drug prices, the real question is whether Washington’s elites fear Kennedy’s “ideas” because they threaten public health—or because they threaten the status quo.
