Back روبرت كينيدي جونيور Arabic روبرت كينيدى جونيور ARZ رابرت اف. کندی جونیر AZB Робърт Кенеди-младши Bulgarian রবার্ট এফ. কেনেডি জুনিয়র Bengali/Bangla Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Czech Robert F. Kennedy Jr. German Ρόμπερτ Κένεντι Τζούνιορ Greek Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Spanish رابرت اف. کندی جونیور Persian
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Kennedy in 2023 | |
| United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
Presumptive nominee | |
| Assuming office TBD | |
| President | Donald Trump (elect) |
| Deputy | TBD |
| Succeeding | Xavier Becerra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. January 17, 1954 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Independent (since 2023) |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouses | Emily Black
(m. 1982; div. 1994) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Kennedy family |
| Education | |
| Occupation |
|
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, and conspiracy theorist who will be nominated to serve as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.[1] He is the chairman and founder of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group and proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.[2][3] He was on the ballot in some states as an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election.[4] A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, and a nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and senator Ted Kennedy.
After growing up in the Washington, D.C. area and Massachusetts, Kennedy graduated from Harvard University and obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In the mid-1980s, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection: Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).[5] His work at Riverkeeper set long-term environmental legal standards. At both organizations, Kennedy won legal battles against large corporate polluters. He became an adjunct professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986.[6] In 1987, Kennedy founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic, and held the positions of supervising attorney and co-director there until 2017.[7] He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, serving as the president of its board until 2020.[8]
Since 2005, Kennedy has promoted anti-vaccine misinformation[9] and public-health conspiracy theories,[10] including the scientifically disproven claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism. The preservative Kennedy bases his claims on has not been used in childhood vaccines since 2001.[11] Kennedy has described his position as advocating for medical freedom and raising concerns about government overreach in public health matters, though public health experts and fact checkers have widely criticized this framing.[12][13] Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has emerged as a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in the United States.[14][2] Many of his often false public health claims have targeted prominent figures such as Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden. He has written books including The Real Anthony Fauci (2021) and A Letter to Liberals (2022).
- ^ Dorn, Sara (November 14, 2024). "Trump Taps RFK Jr. As Secretary Of Health And Human Services: Here Are All The Conspiracies He's Promoted". Forbes. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Smith_12/15/2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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NBCEndorsedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Agee, J'nelle (March 18, 2017). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Resigns from Riverkeeper". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr". JW Howard Attorneys. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Steve (April 29, 2015). "RFK Jr. to address College of Law graduates". Nebraska Today. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Resigns as Waterkeeper Alliance President". Waterkeeper Alliance. November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- ^ Multiple sources:
- The Anti-Vaxx Playbook (PDF) (Report). Center for Countering Digital Hate. 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- Oshin, Olafimihan (January 23, 2022). "Auschwitz Memorial says RFK Jr. speech at anti-vaccine rally exploits Holocaust tragedy". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
During a speech at the rally, Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and prominent anti-vaxxer, warned of a massive surveillance network created with satellites in space and 5G mobile networks collecting data.
- "Cheryl Hines Blasts Husband RFK Jr. for Holocaust Remark". TheWrap. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
Cheryl Hines has publicly condemned a statement made by her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a rally on Sunday, in which the environmental lawyer and conspiracy theorist likened COVID regulations to the Holocaust.
- "Guests urged to be vaccinated at anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr's party". The Guardian. December 18, 2021. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
The younger Kennedy has campaigned on environmental issues but is also a leading vaccines conspiracy theorist and activist against shots including those approved to combat Covid-19, which has killed more than 805,000 in the US and more than 5.3 million worldwide.
- Dorn, Sara. "RFK Jr. Makes Unfounded Claims About Mass Shootings, Covid-19: Here Are All The Conspiracies He Promotes". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Conspiracy Theories Go Beyond Vaccines". The New York Times. July 6, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, is a leading vaccine skeptic and purveyor of conspiracy theories who has leaned heavily on misinformation as he mounts his long-shot 2024 campaign for the Democratic nomination.
- ^ Mnookin, Seth (January 11, 2017). "How Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Distorted Vaccine Science". Scientific American. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017.
For more than a decade, Kennedy has promoted anti-vaccine propaganda completely unconnected to reality.
- ^ Lamas, Daniela (April 24, 2024). "Skepticism Is Healthy, but in Medicine, It Can Be Dangerous". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024.
- ^ Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (2021). The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5107-6680-8.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam (February 26, 2022). "A Kennedy's Crusade Against Covid Vaccines Anguishes Family and Friends". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.