Before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became a top science adviser to Donald Trump — a once-and-future president who openly denies environmental science — the dynastic New York lawyer was such a prominent environmentalist that he literally became a “waterkeeper,” someone dedicated to conserving natural bodies of water from pollution. For more than 20 years, Kennedy helped lead the “Waterkeeper Alliance” he co-founded until leaving in 2020 to "devote himself” to vaguely defined “other issues.” That story ended, as the world now knows, with Kennedy launching a third-party 2024 presidential bid before dropping out at a critical moment to endorse Trump.
One of Kennedy’s fellow waterkeepers, Diane Wilson, 76, remembers the evolution in Kennedy’s personality as he shifted from environmentalist to conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter. In 2019, she won a $50 million lawsuit against a Taiwanese plastics company called Formosa Plastics Corporation, Waterkeeper v. Formosa, and Kennedy reached out to congratulate her and to offer his future support.
