The former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the ideal figure to address America’s chronic disease epidemic.
Dr. Robert Redfield, who led the public health agency from 2018 to 2021, announced his endorsement in a Tuesday op-ed for Newsweek.
The virologist noted that the Trump administration made efforts to address chronic disease in 2019 by funding interventions to thwart the crisis.
“Five years later, this issue is exactly where it needs to be: at the center of the presidential debate, now in a unique partnership,” said Redfield. “To heal our children, a president must see the possible and lead our nation to act. After more than 40 years in the public health arena, it might surprise some of my colleagues to know I think President Trump chose the right man for the job: Robert Kennedy, Jr.”
Redfield stated that 75 percent of the U.S.’s $4 trillion annual health care costs is spent on chronic disease. He cited data from the National Survey of Children’s Health that found 40 percent of school-aged children suffer from at least one chronic health condition. The virologist also cited statistics from Forbes noting that, in 2024, 20 percent of children are obese.
“Today, private industry uses its political influence to control decision-making at regulatory agencies, law enforcement entities, and legislatures,” Redfield said.
He continued:Kennedy is right: All three of the principal health agencies suffer from agency capture. A large portion of the FDA's budget is provided by pharmaceutical companies. NIH is cozy with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and its scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs NIH licenses to pharma. And as the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I know the agency can be influenced by special interest groups.
The former CDC director said Republican candidate Donald Trump has pledged to establish a panel of experts to work with Kennedy to investigate the root causes of chronic health issues and childhood illness in the U.S.
“In response, Kennedy pledged that ‘within two years, we will watch the chronic disease burden lift dramatically’ if he's given the tools he needs to make a change,” Redfield said. “I believe him. And I think President Trump will empower him. I support their noble effort to heal our children.”
The virologist’s op-ed was published the day after Kennedy touted his “Make America Healthy Again” message on Capitol Hill.
“For 19 years, solving the childhood, chronic disease crisis has been the central goal of my life, and for 19 years, I have prayed to God every morning to put me in a position to end this calamity,” Kennedy said during a four-hour roundtable hosted on Monday by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “I believe we have the opportunity for transformational, bipartisan change to transform American health — to hypercharge our human capital, to improve our budget, and, I believe, to save our spirits and our country.”
