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The Kennedy family, which has an important place in the American political tradition, has a history full of deaths, murders and pain. Despite the fact that two of its members, one of whom was the president, were killed, these family members have not given up on politics. At this point, we should state that this family also has an impact on the 2024 US Presidential elections, which have changed the balances in world geopolitics. As we enter January, the 47th President-elect Trump continues to determine the ministers he will assign to his cabinet one by one and announce them to the public. In this context, President Donald recently announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the new health secretary.
At this step, we should state that Robert, who is seen as an important factor in the Democratic Party and Harris losing all swing states in the 2024 elections, will serve in the Republican Party government, which is a very important political development. This colourful political personality, known for his opposition to vaccination during the pandemic and who resembles D. Trump with his views, although he comes from a Democrat background, seems to be frequently talked about in the coming period.
In this concept, we wanted to analyse his life, views, books and potential effects as the new Minister of Health, especially for those who do not follow US and international politics much. After all, this different personality, who is an environmental lawyer and also an activist, will serve as the US Minister of Health until 2029, unless otherwise indicated. RFK Jr, who lost his father and uncle to assassination, has a unique weight in this context both within the Democrats and in American politics.
The Life and Family Legacy: Growing Up as a Kennedy
When answering this question, it would be wrong not to mention his uncle, President Robert Kennedy. After his assassination in 1963 while he was the President of the United States, RFK’s father John Kennedy ran for president in the Democratic primary to continue his brother’s tradition, and then he was killed also in an assassination in 1968. Those who describe him as a conspiracy theorist or an obsessive personality today should also take into account two such major traumas.
The new Minister of Health, who was born in 1954 and a member of a family with 10 children, was born in Washington and studied law at Harvard University. After this, Robert also received his doctorate, and later decided to become an environmental lawyer. The fact that such a different character, who had ups and downs in his life and was arrested for drug possession while he was an Assistant District Attorney, entered American politics is an indication of how participatory the democratic tradition is.
Robert F. Kennedy JR., who entered a rehabilitation centre after such painful and criminal events, later devoted himself to issues such as protecting natural water resources and the environment, and increasing the use of renewable energy. At this point, it is important to know that there were turning points in his life and to consider them when making judgments about him. At this stage, since we know that you will find his biography everywhere, we wanted to include the important events and views that affected his character rather than the historical flow of his life.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Career in Law and Advocacy
After all, his family and Democrats, who think that he had an impact on Trump’s victory in the presidential elections, are very angry with him right now. So, what led him to decide to support the Republicans at the expense of losing to Kamala Harris and how will his course of action be shaped after this? Let’s analyse this issue in a little more detail.
When we ask who is Robert F. Kennedy JR., the first thing we will come across is that he is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. In addition, his sharp criticisms against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past are very important. As the new minister, this institution will also be affiliated with him. In this context, Donald Trump has made a statement that RFK will make a great contribution to our people being healthy again and getting rid of chemicals.
We also should know that while the health sector was trying to produce vaccines during the pandemic period, he claimed that even COVID-19 was not a real epidemic and that vaccines, instead of being a real solution, would be the cause of very big diseases in the future and could cause autism, and was clearly against vaccination. It will be very interesting for such a character to take over the health of the country.
Apart from health, RFK differs from the party he came from in many issues. These include the Russia-Ukraine war, the fall of Assad in Syria, and the events in Gaza and Israel.
Books and Ideas: Kennedy’s Contributions to Environment
At this point, it is possible to list his claims and views on politics and international relations as follows:
– Russia-Ukraine War: In a television program he participated in, he stated that Gorbachev’s only condition for the bloodless dissolution of Soviet Russia was that NATO not expand towards Russia. At this stage, according to him, the West did not keep its promises to the Russians and expanded towards Russian territory several times and that Putin was forced to attack Ukraine after the provocations of Zelensky, who is actually a comedian.
– Syria Issue: RFK JR., who stated that he was particularly disturbed by the presence of soldiers in northern Syria, claimed that US soldiers should withdraw from there in a short time and leave their places to local elements. At this point, he also said that the risk of his own soldiers being caught between two opposing armed forces should not be taken. The overthrow of Assad shortly after the elections was another issue that strengthened his claims.
-American Public Health: If you watch his videos on the internet, you will see that he claims that the American people are deliberately directed to consume too much food and use medicine. When he withdrew his candidacy for independent president in October 2024 and announced that he supported Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. adaptation of the famous Republican slogan “MAGA” and his expressions “Make America Healthy Again” as “MAHA” attracted a lot of attention.
RFK Impact on 2024 Presidential Elections
The fact that Democrats did not give enough value to him during this process must have hurt his pride a little. After all, it is very natural that he used his weight in many swing states and contributed to the Republicans’ victory. Then, he stated that the fact that people are becoming more obese and unhealthy is a plan of forces that are deliberately trying to destroy society, and he showed that he did not get the nickname “conspiracy theorist” for nothing.
When we consider his family and political tradition, his support for Trump shocked everyone at first, but it later became clear that there was a reason for this. It was rumoured for a long time that these two met for negotiations in July 2024 and that Donald offered Robert F. Kennedy JR the position of Minister of Health if he was elected. In this context, if we take into account his public health ideas and environmentalist nature, it would not be wrong to expect him to make marginal and different moves in his new position in the future. (Just like Elon Musk)
RFK Jr. Book List and His Impacts on Literature
In addition to all this work and information, it should also be noted that he is also a writer. As you can appreciate, it seems that we will hear and talk about the name of the new Minister of Health, who writes in the fields of health and politics and has more than seven books, much more in the coming period.
At this point, if we list Robert F. Kennedy JR. books:
- Vax-Unvax Let the Science Speak
- The Real Anthony Fauci
- A Letter to Liberals
- America’s Path Back to Moral Leadership
- The Wuhan Cover-up
- American Hero
- American Values
