Kennedy’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Faces Loyalty Tests/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement is gaining popularity but facing internal friction. Supporters accuse the administration of straying from its anti-vaccine and health freedom roots. Kennedy now walks a tightrope between grassroots expectations and political realities.
MAHA and RFK Jr. + Quick Looks
- Kennedy’s MAHA movement gains traction but faces internal dissent.
- Critics within MAHA say core values are being compromised by corporate ties.
- Kennedy defends allies accused of undermining anti-pharma agenda.
- Grassroots supporters express distrust of partnerships with tech and drug firms.
- A growing identity crisis emerges within MAHA’s expanding coalition.
- Vaccine policy and corporate involvement remain hot-button issues.
- Kennedy’s pragmatic leadership clashes with movement idealism.
- Public polling shows widespread support for MAHA goals despite infighting.
Kennedy’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Faces Loyalty Tests
Deep Look
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative has become a potent political force in U.S. public health policy, but with its rising influence comes deepening internal fractures. While Kennedy basks in public praise at high-profile events and garners admiration from Washington insiders, segments of his grassroots base are voicing frustration — accusing the movement of abandoning its original mission.
At a recent MAHA celebration in Washington, Kennedy shared the stage with corporate health leaders and received accolades from Vice President Trump and tech executives. Yet on the same day, online dissent painted a far less harmonious picture. Former Health and Human Services official Gray Delany, ousted months earlier, declared MAHA was no longer recognizable. “I’m not there, but what I’ve heard of what’s happening today is not the MAHA that we signed up for,” he said in a podcast.
The MAHA movement, originally rooted in vaccine skepticism, environmental health activism, and anti-pharmaceutical sentiment, is evolving into a broader coalition. But that growth has caused ideological clashes. Some longtime Kennedy supporters feel betrayed by what they see as cozy relationships between the administration and corporations, especially pharmaceutical firms and artificial intelligence companies.
Kennedy’s administration has enacted sweeping reforms, including pulling $500 million from vaccine development programs and overhauling a vaccine injury compensation system. Yet critics within his own movement argue these actions don’t go far enough. Many want mRNA COVID-19 vaccines removed entirely from the market and punishment for companies that profited from pandemic-related mandates.
The backlash reached a tipping point last week when fired HHS staffers and MAHA-aligned influencers accused White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Kennedy adviser Stefanie Spear of undermining efforts to challenge pharmaceutical interests. Critics unearthed past ties between Wiles and a lobbying firm linked to Pfizer and resurfaced old social media posts where Spear criticized Donald Trump.
Kennedy responded publicly, defending Wiles as a key ally and Spear as a loyal supporter. “Let’s focus on our extraordinary achievements to date and the monumental work that still needs to be done,” he posted. “Let’s build our coalition instead of splintering it.”
The disagreement highlights a fundamental question: What does MAHA stand for now?
Initially focused on “health freedom,” MAHA has morphed into a catchall health reform effort. Its broad message — improving American health — has mass appeal. According to a June Ipsos poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans support the initiative. But with that appeal has come corporate interest, sparking unease among some early supporters.
At the latest MAHA event, the lineup featured companies like CRISPR Therapeutics, Regeneron, Neuralink, and AI startups — all sharing the stage with Kennedy. The presence of such entities prompted alarm.
“I don’t think we make America healthy again through pills, creams, injections, pharmaceuticals, chips, monitors, devices,” said Leslie Manookian of the Health Freedom Defense Fund.
Other grassroots leaders echoed the sentiment. Ethan Augreen, a former Kennedy campaign volunteer from Colorado, voiced concern over Kennedy’s meeting with tech executives to discuss personal health data. “Grassroots MAHA people don’t trust these corporations,” he said.
Still, Kennedy is navigating a delicate balance between political pragmatism and idealism. At a recent Oval Office meeting, he stood with President Trump to announce a drug pricing deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Though he’s voiced skepticism about GLP-1 weight-loss medications in the past, Kennedy called the deal a “step forward,” while maintaining that deeper reforms are needed.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, now overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, acknowledged criticism from Kennedy’s base but framed the administration’s actions as strategic.
“We’re not going head-to-head with adversaries,” he said. “We’re using Trump’s negotiation playbook.”
Observers say the internal dissent reflects a larger challenge facing any populist political movement: maintaining unity as power expands. “The bigger your tent, the harder it is to keep everyone happy,” noted Matt Motta, a public health professor at Boston University.
Even Kennedy’s supporters admit reforming health policy within a sprawling federal bureaucracy will take time. Jeffrey Tucker of the Brownstone Institute urged patience.
“It’s very important to hold on to your ideals,” he said, “but if you’re doing nothing but throwing rocks, then you can become a problem.”
Kennedy, for his part, appears committed to threading that needle. At a recent governors’ meeting, he reassured skeptics that vaccines would not be banned outright, but that informed choice and safety reforms remain priorities.
As MAHA grows, it is increasingly clear that the movement has outgrown any single issue or identity. Whether it can hold together — or fractures under competing visions — may define Kennedy’s legacy and reshape how Americans engage with public health in the political arena.
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