Dr. Deborah Birx spoke favorably of President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his administration, suggesting he is giving what voters demanded from him in the election.
Kennedy was nominated by Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services in his administration, as Kennedy has called for the government to address ultra-processed foods and find the root causes of chronic disease. Birx, who previously worked with Trump as the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said that those suffering from additives within foods primarily live in rural areas, and expressed hope that Kennedy and Trump’s HHS will be able to address health issues “one by one by one.”
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“We’re talking about using all of their ingredients in a way that is more healthy for Americans, and I think that’s what people are calling for now,” Birx said on CBS News’s Face the Nation. “Europe did it years ago, and I think we’re capable of doing that. We are really smart, high levels of technology. We can make food tasty without a lot of these additives because we can see that other groups are doing it in a small way. So, we’re not talking about eliminating the need for wheats and grains. We’re talking about putting those together in a healthy way.”
Birx also addressed Kennedy’s previous criticism of vaccinations, including his claims that autism stems from vaccinations. Birx argued that part of the decline in vaccinations stems from “the concerns” that revolve around them, claiming that there has been an uptick in autism among children over the years and argued it is “not good enough” to simply tell people “vaccines don’t cause autism.”
“And so that’s why when he talks about transparency, I’m actually excited that, in a Senate hearing, he would bring forward his data and the questions that come from the senators would bring forth their data,” Birx said. “What I know for sure is he’s a very smart man who can bring his data and his evidence base forward, and we can have a discussion that many Americans believe already is a problem.”
Another factor that has increased vaccine skepticism, Birx added, was the lack of transparency in what the COVID-19 vaccines do, leading to parents questioning the other vaccines their children receive. She added that addressing the cause of autism will be “critical” in Trump’s administration and Kennedy’s HHS.
Following Kennedy’s nomination, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) defended Kennedy’s previous statements, calling Trump’s HHS nominee “extremely intelligent” on vaccinations and that the topic of vaccines “raise[s] a lot of questions.” The senator also expressed a desire to find the root cause of autism, as it could be “something else that we’re putting in our systems.”
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Despite the criticism from some over Kennedy’s nomination, Trump’s nomination has been praised on social media, including from Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), who suggested Kennedy could break up “big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly.” Fitness guru Jillian Michaels has similarly praised Trump’s pick, posting on X that she was “very, very grateful.”
Besides expressing a desire to find the root causes of chronic disease and increase the safety of vaccinations, Kennedy also said he wants to ban pharmaceutical companies from advertising drugs on television. He renewed the call during an Arizona rally with Trump earlier this month, saying the ban was needed in order to “correct the chronic disease epidemic.”