# RFK Jr. Tells Anti-Vaccine Group: 'You Have a Friend' in Trump

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/rfk-jr-tells-anti-vaccine-group-you-have-a-friend-in-trump
- Published: 2026-09-18T01:08:41.713392+00:00
- Topics: vaccines, public-health, rfk-jr, hhs, trump-administration

## What the left says
- Kennedy used his position atop the nation's top health agency to lend legitimacy to an organization that spreads falsehoods, including claims that the polio vaccine's success was a 'fraud' and that childhood vaccines kill more children than the diseases they prevent.
- His rhetoric about vaccines causing chronic illness and autism contradicts decades of rigorous scientific research and the consensus of mainstream immunologists and public health experts.
- Federal health officials embracing fringe anti-vaccine views risks eroding public trust in immunization programs and could contribute to declining vaccination rates and disease outbreaks.
- Kennedy's admission that bureaucratic and legal constraints have slowed his agenda, paired with Trump's continued backing, signals more aggressive rollbacks of vaccine policy are still to come rather than a moderation of his views.

## What the right says
- Kennedy frames his work as pursuing answers to legitimate safety questions rather than banning vaccines, emphasizing that families should retain choice without federal mandates.
- Supporters see his push for studies on cumulative vaccine effects, adjuvants, and long-term health outcomes as reasonable oversight rather than fringe conspiracy, especially given growing public concern over chronic childhood illness.
- The administration's willingness to revisit the vaccine schedule, including splitting the MMR shot into separate doses, reflects a commitment to parental autonomy and skepticism of unquestioned institutional authority.
- Kennedy portrays his tenure as a fight against entrenched bureaucratic inertia at HHS, arguing that meaningful reform takes time within a system designed to resist rapid change.

## Common ground
- Kennedy gave the keynote address at a Children's Health Defense conference, the anti-vaccine group he founded and once chaired.
- He told attendees they have a 'strong and steadfast friend' in the Trump White House.
- The Trump administration has taken concrete steps to alter vaccine policy, including an executive order to split the MMR vaccine into separate doses.
- A federal judge has halted some of the administration's efforts to reshape the vaccine advisory board and childhood immunization schedule.

## Sources
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/17/rfk-vaccine-safety-anti-vaccine-gathering) (Lean Left)
- [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/health/kennedy-vaccines-childrens-health-defense.html) (Lean Left)
- [PBS NewsHour](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-rfk-jr-speaks-at-conference-for-anti-vaccine-group-he-founded) (Lean Left)
- [The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/09/rfk-jr-childrens-health-defense-conference-speech/688685/?utm_source=feed) (Lean Left)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/newsletters/healthcare/6097014-kennedy-fans-vaccine-injury-concerns-at-anti-vaccine-event/) (Center)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6096884-kennedy-trump-administration-anti-vaccination/) (Center)
- [The Hill](https://thehill.com/video-clips/6095784-watch-live-rfk-jr-childrens-health-defense-anti-vaccine-conference-2026/) (Center)
- [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/09/17/rfk-jr-give-keynote-speech-conference-anti-vaccine-group-he-founded/) (Lean Left)
- [Washington Times](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/17/robert-f-kennedy-jr-tells-anti-vaccine-activists-friend-donald-trumps/) (Right)

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