Kennedy and Trump Join Forces: Unveiling the Astonishing Inside Story of the "Make America Healthy Again" Super Political Action Committee!

Donald Trump's endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his fringe health theory has drawn much attention in Washington and beyond, with powerful agricultural interests scrambling to protect their industry from the potential impact of Kennedy's theory.

Trade groups representing farmers say they are actively supporting Trump's campaign because they are concerned about Kennedy's comments about U.S. agriculture. At the same time, packaged food companies and other major industry lobbyists are engaged in an aggressive lobbying campaign to defend the additives and other ingredients they use.

The reaction to Kennedy Jr. 's agenda marks one of the ways the business community is preparing for the disruptive changes that Trump could bring. While many businesses achieved their goals during Trump's first term, the latest rhetoric on the campaign trail has raised concerns that Trump's second term could see a series of more aggressive policy changes.

As one food industry lobbyist put it, Kennedy "has gotten a lot of attention in the last few weeks."

"I don't want you to vote for me," Kennedy Jr. told Michigan voters.

Over the weekend, Trump revealed to Joe Rogan in a podcast that he was fully committed to bringing Kennedy into his administration, with a focus on health issues. On Monday, Kennedy claimed at a virtual event that Trump promised he would "rein in the public health agencies," which include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. "And the USDA," Kennedy continued, "because you know, that's the key to making sure America is healthy, we've got to get rid of seed oil, we've got to get rid of pesticide-intensive agriculture."

A ban on pesticides - not to mention food additives, seed oils, or ultra-processed foods, as Kennedy advocates - would revolutionize America's existing food system. If Trump does let Kennedy "kick ass" on food and health issues, as he promised at a recent campaign rally, it would be a complete reversal of his first-term agriculture agenda, which included rolling back pesticide restrictions and other food-related regulations.

Howard Lutnick, co-chairman of the Trump transition team, said on CNN Wednesday night that Kennedy "will not run HHS," though he suggested that the prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist could take on a role examining health and vaccine data. People familiar with the transition conversations said it was more likely that Trump would appoint Kennedy to some kind of food and health czar role without Senate confirmation.

Kennedy did not respond to questions for this story, but said in a statement that he appreciated the former president's commitment to eliminating chronic disease.

The one-time independent presidential candidate has not shied away from running for a senior position in a future Trump administration. After abandoning his previous race and endorsing Trump in August, Kennedy and his Allies launched a "Make America Healthy Again" super PAC to "unite supporters of Robert Kennedy Jr. to vote for Donald J. Trump and Make America Healthy Again."

He has since used the MAHA initiative as a platform to promote himself and his food and health agenda - taking direct aim at the country's powerful agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies, which he and his supporters blame for exacerbating chronic disease rates and environmental abuse.

This broad critique of the American food system is shared by many on the left and right. But Kennedy went further, embracing scientifically dubious theories about vitamins, chemicals and seed oil that were his infamous role in fueling debunked anti-vaccine conspiracies.

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While most in the agriculture and pharmaceutical industries remain skeptical that Trump will eventually give Kennedy real power, conversations with more than a half-dozen industry lobbyists, more than a dozen lawmakers and Hill aides suggest that many have begun to prepare for that reality.

"All farm groups have listened to producers, and we're certainly raising those concerns with the Trump campaign," one farm industry lobbyist told POLITICO. "We will certainly be watching and keeping a close eye on it."

Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's communications director, said it was too early to discuss who would serve in a Trump administration. Zhang did not deny that Trump had promised to put Kennedy in charge of the health and food agencies.

Caroline Leavitt, the Trump campaign's national press secretary, said Trump would work with "passionate voices" like Kennedy to restore America to health by providing families with safe food and addressing chronic diseases that plague children. Levitt also mentioned Trump's plan to create a presidential commission of "independent minds" that would be free from the "interests of big pharma" to investigate the causes of the increase in chronic diseases.

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A former official at the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services cautioned that it was unclear how much influence Kennedy would ultimately be able to exert if the former president won re-election. The former official said the Trump team is currently talking to Kennedy about his "healthy living" goals rather than "radical FDA ideas."

"I think it's serious that they're taking his advice, but I don't think it's an issue" with his appointment as FDA commissioner, the former official added, questioning whether Kennedy would be willing to give up his investment to comply with federal ethics rules.

Kennedy has also boasted of partnerships with Trump that ultimately failed to materialize - such as his claim in January 2017 that the then-president-elect had asked him to lead a vaccine commission. Trump himself is notoriously fickle when it comes to personnel matters. Even if he sticks to his promise, the former president would need the support of senators to confirm Kennedy as a cabinet secretary or head of the Food and Drug Administration. Many of the policies Kennedy advocated would likely be limited by legal challenges, even if enacted.

Some industry groups aren't taking any chances.

Earlier this month, These include the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Dozens of the nation's most prominent farming groups, including Cooperatives, sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees expressing concern about "significant misconceptions" about common agricultural practices such as the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms, and defending "the existing risk-based and science-based regulatory framework for these technologies."

John Walter Boatright, AFBF's director of government affairs, wrote in a statement to POLITICO: "The Farm Bureau and other organizations sent this letter in an effort to combat misinformation spread by several sources, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about critical crop protection tools and agricultural practices." Boatright added that the AFBF does not endorse candidates or potential cabinet picks, but instead "communicates directly with candidates" to recommend policy positions.

Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of the Consumer Brands Association, which represents packaged food companies, said her organization has been meeting with members of Congress for "quite some time" to discuss policies regarding ultra-processed foods, food safety and dietary regulations, These were the main areas that Kennedy Jr. emphasized in his healthy living remarks.

"Anyone running for president across the political spectrum whose platform includes making decisions on the food supply that are not based on science, that would be a focus for us," Gallo said.