{"id":1752,"date":"2025-06-19T01:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T01:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/06\/19\/rfk-jr-s-anti-intellectualism-is-making-us-sick\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T01:44:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T01:44:14","slug":"rfk-jr-s-anti-intellectualism-is-making-us-sick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/06\/19\/rfk-jr-s-anti-intellectualism-is-making-us-sick\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr.&#8217;s anti-intellectualism is making us sick"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On May 14, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current United States Secretary of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/\">Health and Human Services<\/a>, appeared before the House Committee on Appropriations and made a slew of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/05\/14\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-vaccine-question-congressional-hearing\/83624022007\/\">disconcerting<\/a> statements.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think people should be taking medical advice from me,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n<p>This comment, among others, underscored Kennedy\u2019s unfitness to serve. The purpose of the HHS secretary\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/what-does-the-health-and-human-services-secretary-do\"> position<\/a> is to direct the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for protecting and promoting the health and well-being of all Americans. They are also tasked with advising the president on health care policy issues and public health measures. Given the vital work of the HHS secretary, RFK Jr.\u2019s statements were both concerning and palpably ironic. However, in this era of anti-intellectualism, it barely raises concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Recently, American politics has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.persuasion.community\/p\/the-crusade-against-expertise-part\"> shifted<\/a> away from valuing expertise. Prior experience and qualifications are not<a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/opinion\/article\/experience-does-matter-even-in-politics-2160330.php\"> necessary<\/a> to gain influence anymore, as politicians no longer<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/white-house\/510130-trump-prizes-loyalty-over-competence-we-are-seeing-the-results\/\"> need<\/a> to demonstrate competence to secure a seat at the table. Largely<a href=\"https:\/\/archive-yaleglobal.yale.edu\/content\/trumps-america-anti-intellectual-and-proud-it\"> driven<\/a> by President Donald Trump\u2019s prioritization of loyalty over qualification, anti-intellectualism has increased in American politics. This rise represents a dangerous shift away from evidence-based governance, posing a threat to the health and safety of those the government is tasked with protecting.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Nowhere is the rise of loyalism and anti-intellectualism more patently dangerous than the appointment of RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS. As the leader of all health-related matters in the nation, RFK Jr. has spent decades<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/fact-checking-rfk-jrs-claims-vaccines-pesticides-confirmation\/story?id=118224419\"> undermining<\/a> the very scientific organizations he now oversees. He has championed medical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/rfk-conspiracy-theories-fact-check.html\">conspiracies<\/a>, like<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/07\/health\/vaccines-autism-cdc-rfk-jr.html\"> promoting<\/a> thoroughly debunked theories linking vaccines to autism and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/jan\/24\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-anti-vax-speech-anne-frank-auschwitz-memorial\">comparing<\/a> vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n<p>And now, he is using his powerful platform to legitimize misinformation that was once confined to conspiracy theories, leaving many unsure of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aamc.org\/news\/why-do-so-many-americans-distrust-science\"> whom<\/a> to trust for accurate medical information. Most recently, he <a href=\"https:\/\/lailluminator.com\/2025\/06\/16\/kennedy-vaccine\/\">fired<\/a> all of the CDC\u2019s vaccine experts and appointed either conspiracy theorists or people with no experience to the committee. These are supposed to be our nation\u2019s leading scientists and experts on vaccines, and now we have anti-vaccine propagandists in place of actual experts. This could not come at a worse time.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, a growing measles<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smfm.org\/news\/the-rise-of-measles-is-entirely-preventable\"> outbreak<\/a> has spread across multiple states, with preventable deaths already<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41579-025-01198-3\"> reported<\/a>. This is especially alarming, given that measles was<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/measles\/about\/history.html\"> eliminated<\/a> in the United States in 2000, following decades of successful vaccination efforts. Its reemergence marks a disturbing reversal in public health progress, one not driven by science but by ideology and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facinghistory.org\/resource-library\/political-polarization-united-states\"> increasing<\/a> polarization. In a time of rapidly evolving global health threats, leadership that undermines science not only confuses the public but also costs lives. When truth becomes partisan, public safety becomes collateral damage.<\/p>\n<p>A further erosion of trust occurred with the release of the \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/trump-officials-downplay-fake-citations-high-profile-report-children-s-health\">report<\/a>\u00a0on May 22, which was riddled with fake citations and other errors in the bibliography, which was riddled with errors: fake citations, broken links, incorrect issue numbers and missing or incorrect authors. This further undermines his credibility and that of all the organizations he oversees, as it reveals a lack of professional standards and scientific rigor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While some may argue that RFK Jr.\u2019s appointment is not unprecedented because he isn\u2019t the first non-physician to lead the HHS, he is less suited for the role than most previous HHS secretaries. Although the majority of HHS secretaries in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwla.org\/becerra-becomes-new-hhs-head\/\"> recent<\/a> decades have come from a wide range of legal or political backgrounds, one distinction is crucial \u2014 they, unlike RFK Jr., did not<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/the-lede\/the-junk-science-of-robert-f-kennedy-jr\"> lack respect<\/a> for science or the institutions they led. For example,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/06\/us\/politics\/xavier-becerra-hhs-health-secretary.html\"> Xavier Becerra<\/a>, a former appointee to the HHS under former President Joe Biden, brought decades of experience in health policy and administration, despite not holding a medical degree. Even<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2018\/01\/29\/watch-alex-azar-sworn-in-as-trumps-new-health-care-chief.html\"> Alex Azar<\/a>, a pharmaceutical executive during Trump\u2019s first term, had significant experience in healthcare regulation. RFK Jr.\u2019s appointment represents a<a href=\"https:\/\/doctorsforamerica.org\/statement-release-rfk-resignation\/\"> break<\/a> not just from qualifications, but from the very mission and goal of the agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>The rise of anti-intellectualism poses a serious<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/04\/22\/nx-s1-5340753\/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist\"> threat<\/a> to American democracy by eroding public trust in essential health-focused institutions, such as the CDC and NIH. Facts are increasingly viewed as ideological as scientists, experts and career professionals are dismissed, with entire programs becoming eliminated. The politicization of expertise then weakens the government\u2019s ability to prevent and respond to crises, from pandemics to environmental disasters.<\/p>\n<p>If the U.S. wants to preserve a functional and safe democracy, it is vital to recenter expertise, truth and accountability in public decision-making. Unqualified appointees must be removed from their positions, as their lack of experience or hostility to science and truth poses a risk to lives and national stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Anti-intellectualism is no longer in the background of American politics; it is now front and center. Trump\u2019s prioritization of loyalty over competence and his distaste for science and intellectualism threaten the health and safety of us all.<\/p>\n<p><em>Nina Attisha is an Opinion Columnist who writes about politics in her biweekly column, \u201cChecks and Imbalances.\u201d She can be reached at ninanina@umich.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 14, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, appeared before the House Committee on Appropriations and made a slew of disconcerting statements. \u201cI don\u2019t think people should be taking medical advice from me,\u201d Kennedy said. This comment, among others, underscored Kennedy\u2019s unfitness to serve. The purpose [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1954,908,1955,1953,1956],"class_list":{"0":"post-1752","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-antiintellectualism","9":"tag-jr-s","10":"tag-making","11":"tag-rfk","12":"tag-sick"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1754,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions\/1754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}