By LINLEY SANDERS and AMANDA SEITZ, Associated Press
Washington (AP) The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. “And their parents,” she adds.
Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, claims that she has struggled with her own weight.
That’s why she was drawn to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claim to “make America healthy again” while he was running alongside Donald Trump. Kennedy’s inquiries regarding the part processed foods play in the obesity crisis in America pleased her.
Mejia, a fervent Trump fan, declared, “I’m a junk food person.” I began to question the source of those extra pounds.
She came to the conclusion after listening to Kennedy: We can’t rely on the health agencies we’ve trusted for years to assure us that our foods are safe.
Kennedy has been hailed by Republicans like Mejia, whose partnership with the president-elect may make the well-known environmentalist and vaccine skeptic the nation’s top health official the following year. Recent polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters in the 2024 presidential election, shows that Republicans have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of Kennedy and that the majority support Trump’s choice to appoint him to his administration.
However, Kennedy is generally seen less favorably by Americans, and some of his ideas—such as a more thorough examination of vaccines—are not widely accepted.
Kennedy will be tasked with overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1.7 trillion organization that conducts cancer research, authorizes prescription medications, and offers health insurance to about half of the nation, if the Senate confirms him.
What Americans think about RFK Jr. as nation s top health official
According to a December AP-NORC poll, over 60% of Republicans support Kennedy’s selection to Trump’s Cabinet, while only roughly 10% oppose it. The remaining respondents are either unaware of Kennedy or have no view.
Natalie Moralez, a 32-year-old engineer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who identifies as independent, was drawn to Kennedy’s discussion on nutritious diets.
She like his pledges to challenge strong corporations. And she s eager to see him challenge the ingredients they use in the food she finds on supermarket shelves.
Even just buying foods from the grocery store, like what else is in there? Moralez stated. That s my main concern, and hopefully he can figure out what the underlying issues are and see if we can do better.
Kennedy doesn t fare as well among Americans overall, with about 4 in 10 U.S. adults disapproving and about 3 in 10 approving of his appointment.
Although Kennedy is a member of one of the most powerful Democratic dynasties in the country, most Democrats said they don t like that he s been named to Trump s Cabinet. About 6 in 10 Democrats strongly disapprove of the pick, the December poll found. That s a highershare of disapproval than other high-profile pickssuch as Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary or Marco Rubio for secretary of state.
His anti-vaccine stance isn t broadly popular
Kennedy started his career as an environmental lawyer and won big lawsuits against companies over the chemicals used in weed killers and heavy metal smelters.
But in recent years, he s attracted a sizable and loyal following over hisclaims that vaccines, recommended and championed by the nation s public health agencies, are dangerous. That s despite decades of research, laboratory testing and real-world use that shows childhood vaccinations have prevented millions of deaths.
There s no vaccine that is safe and effective, Kennedy saidon a podcast in July 2023. During a Fox News interview the same year, he said hebelieves a repeatedly discredited ideathat vaccines can cause autism. In recent days, Trump has increasingly suggested thatthe link between autism and vaccinesshould be studied although decades ofresearchhas already concluded there is no connection between the two.
Trump and Kennedy allies have promised not to take away vaccines, instead saying they oppose government mandates and want to conduct more research on the vaccines.
But about half of voters want the government to be more involved in ensuring children are vaccinated for childhood diseases, according toAP VoteCast.
About one-quarter said the government s current involvement on this is about right, and only about 2 in 10 wanted the government to be less involved. But parents of school-age children were somewhat more likely to support a smaller government role: Roughly 3 in 10 parents of children under 18 wanted the government less involved, compared with about 2 in 10 voters without children under 18.
Among Trump s voters, about one-third wanted the government less involved in ensuring children are vaccinated for childhood diseases.
A similar share wanted the government more involved, and about 3 in 10 said its involvement was about right. Roughly 4 in 10 Trump voters who are parents of children under 18 said they want the government less involved in ensuring children are vaccinated, while about one-third said they wanted it more involved.
Kennedy s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them the AP, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
Most Republican voters liked RFK Jr., and most Democrats did not
People who voted in the presidential race this November held divided views on Kennedy, according to AP VoteCast.
Kennedy had dropped out of the presidential race by that point, throwing his support behind Trump, but remained on the ballot in some states.
About 4 in 10 voters had a very or somewhat favorable opinion of Kennedy, and roughly 4 in 10 had a very or somewhat unfavorable view. Slightly more than 1 in 10 did not know enough about Kennedy to have an opinion.
Republican voters about two-thirds were more likely to hold a favorable view of Kennedy, much higher than the roughly 2 in 10 Democrats who viewed him positively. Meanwhile, about 7 in 10 Democrats had a negative opinion of Kennedy, with about half saying they had a very unfavorable view.
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