Kennedy's new mission

TRUMP CONFIDANT: 'MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN' AGENDA GETS BOOST

Robert F Kennedy Jr., a longtime conspiracy theorist and vaccine opponent, now has the ear of President-elect Donald Trump to promote what he's calling the "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

It's an unlikely alliance between the Kennedy family scion, once a celebrated environmental champion who called for prosecuting climate change deniers and the returning Republican leader.

What they share, however, is a profound distrust of institutions.

Trump announced this week he would nominate Kennedy to become the next secretary of health and human services, fulfilling a campaign promise to award the 70-year-old a "big role in health care" that raised alarm in public health circles.

Not long ago Kennedy was a high-powered climate attorney and was even in the mix to become former president Barack Obama's first environment chief.

This makes him a complex figure, some experts say.

In recent days, he's tried to allay fears, telling National Public Radio: "We're not going to take vaccines away from anybody," while adding, "We are going to make sure that Americans have good information."

But Kennedy has spent two decades promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, especially around Covid shots - the vaccines developed in record time under Trump's first administration.