‘I don’t get my medical advice from politicians’:RFK fuels skepticism against doctors and healthcare workers

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a vaccine skeptic, a pseudoscience peddler, and a critic of health agencies. If that’s not absurd enough, RFK also doesn’t believe that people should trust their doctors and healthcare providers.

In a now-deleted interview, RFK incited people to doubt their healthcare providers. “You cannot trust medical advice from medical professionals. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have a great doctor that you should listen to, but you need to take control of your own healthcare and you need to question everything.”

So who exactly should Americans trust with their health? Should Americans trust a lawyer who makes egregious health claims about raw milk and ivermectin over professionally trained doctors? Frustrated people took to social media to air their disappointment against RFK’s irresponsible statement. One wrote on Twitter, “And I don’t trust dental advice from my mechanic. That’s why I don’t get health advice from politicians.”

Another Twitter user said that they’d “rather trust the educated scientists who have spent their lives studying and fighting diseases” over a politician, whose merit is merely their prestigious surname. Although anti-intellectualism in the sciences persists in America, seeing the vast majority of comments push back against RFK’s claim proves one thing: not all is doomed.

Doctors worry about RFK’s appointment

Many doctors have shown grief over Donald Trump’s choice to let RFK lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). YouTuber and Family Medicine Doctor Mike Varshavski tweeted, “It’s a sad day for those in healthcare.”

Dr. Céline Gounder from CBS News states, “Many of us are concerned that he doesn’t have the medical, the scientific, or the public health credentials for this job.” Dr. Gounder elaborated her concern and talked about how RFK has a history of distrusting scientific and technical experts.  The problem doesn’t stop at RFK’s promotion of strange yet unproven home remedies for COVID-19. He’s also the type of person to cite medical studies without considering nuance. Medicine is a highly contextual practice, and yet RFK has generalized studies without consulting experts. RFK as Secretary of the HHS isn’t just a careless choice—he’s a potentially deadly decision.