RFK Jr. says Trump admires business people more than anybody: 'It's a joy to work for him'
The Secretary of Health and Human Services loves the President for giving him creative liberty.
Feb. 12 2026, Published 11:27 a.m. ET
The United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. has a scary reason for why he loves working for President Donald Trump. Speaking at an event hosted by Thinktank The Heritage Foundation, RFK Jr praised Trump's policies and said he was a "joy" to work with as the President lets him have creative liberty that others would never "ever let him do". These comments of the vaccine skeptic were met with laughter and applause at the event, but outside of it, health experts view it as a 'scary' detail, The Mirror US reported.
Marking one year of his “Make America Healthy Again” movement, Kennedy, who is largely regarded as an anti-scientific authoritarian, said President Trump uses power to his advantage. "President Trump's understanding of the uses of power and, you know, how strong the presidency actually is, how much leverage we have over all of these people, nations, corporations who've been taking advantage of us in the past," he said. Opining that Trump is the most business-friendly president since George Bush, he said, "he [Trump] admires business people more than anybody."
Kennedy also ramped up his push against ultra-processed foods, describing his campaign as “spiritual warfare,” warning that “we’re going to lose our country” if the issue was left untackled. He claimed the President loves such food, but he doesn't tolerate overreach and doesn't care about vested interests or about offending powerful people. “So it is a joy to work for him because he lets me do stuff that I don’t think anybody else would,” he added. This remark in particular rattled health experts who have been pushing back against Kennedy's anti-vaccine, anti-science campaign.
As the Health Secretary, he declared that trusting experts wasn't a feature of democratic science but “a feature of religion and totalitarianism.” Critics described his frank admission as “scary.” "RFK Jr. has a vested interest in vaccine injury lawsuits—he’s profited from his anti-vax agenda in the past," said 314 Action president Shaughnessy Naughton, whose group aims to elect more scientists to public office, according to the Daily Beast. Naughton added that Kennedy and his allies now stand to make millions by taking down vaccine manufacturers, placing the health of children at risk. "No one is surprised that the most corrupt president in history doesn’t care how far he goes, even if it means kids will get hurt," Naughton added, as per the publication.
Kennedy has come under fire for making sweeping changes to vaccine policies, and his move to remove federal recommendations for COVID shots for pregnant women and healthy children was met with uproar. He also replaced the CDC’s expert advisory panel with anti-vaccine activists, and experts have largely criticized his restructuring of the Health and Human Services. Since taking charge, Kennedy eliminated thousands of jobs and cancelled billions in research funding, which led to a leadership exodus at the agency. Former CDC director Susan Monarez even claimed that she was pushed out of her job for resisting Kennedy's controversial policies.
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