Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sure is lucky in his timing. The former Democrat turned MAGA conspiracy theorist has a series of meetings with Senate Republicans and insurance company executives this week in an effort to create a clean pathway to confirmation as Donald Trump's secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS). He was already benefitting from credulous coverage from mainstream news organizations repackaging his open hatred of medical science as "tough" on Big Pharma or "promoting" healthy diets, all of which is flat-out false. As journalist Michael Hobbes noted on Bluesky, "Pundits keep pretending that RFK Jr is 'anti Big Pharma' but that is just what anti-vaxxers say to make their ideas seem palatable. He constantly promotes Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine, both of which are produced by pharma companies." Then the nation's attention was drawn to the killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, gunned down on a New York City street on his way to a shareholder meeting.
The alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, has turned into a folk hero in some corners, as people point out that health insurers kill exponentially more people when they deny coverage simply to make more money. Wherever one falls in the moral debate over the public reaction, there can be no doubt that the shooting has ignited a national discussion about the widespread frustration and lack of trust Americans have in our health care systems. There are two directions the conversation can go now. This could be an opportunity to educate the public about the evils of for-profit health care and to create political will to replace private insurance companies with government-run systems that save money and lives. Or it could be a chance for nefarious forces to redirect people's attention to conspiracy theories, paranoid nonsense, and outright delusions. Trump, Kennedy and their fellow MAGA conspiracists want the second option. Progressives should be forceful in seizing this moment to keep Kennedy from using it to set back American healthcare by decades.
