RFK Jr. would have a “very large role” in health care in the new administration

If former President Donald Trump wins the general election, vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could have a significant impact on the national healthcare system.

“He knows this better than anyone,” Trump told a group of reporters during a stop at a restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan. “He happens to have views that I very much agree with and have had for a long time.”

Trump did not specify the exact role Kennedy would play in the new administration. However, this week, Kennedy said during a virtual event that the former president “promised” him “control over the public health agencies, which are HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH and several others.”

Kennedy is the founder of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization that advocates against the use of vaccines.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on Friday about the possibility of Trump appointing Kennedy to a key role.

“He indicated that the person responsible for the health care of the American people will be someone who routinely promotes junk science and crazy conspiracy theories, who once expressed support for a national abortion ban, and who is the last person in America who should set health care policy for American families and children,” Harris said.

Harris also criticized Trump for using extreme rhetoric on the campaign trail. On Thursday, the former president said that Liz Cheney, a Republican who endorsed Harris, is a “radical war hawk.”

“Let’s put her there with a rifle and nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see what she thinks about it,” Trump said Thursday.

On Friday, Harris called the comment “disqualifying.”

“Representative Cheney is a true patriot who has demonstrated extraordinary courage in putting country before party,” Harris said. “Yet Trump increasingly regards his political opponents as the enemy, constantly desires revenge, and is increasingly unstable and unbalanced.”