CLEVELAND — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was met by more than 100 protesters outside the City Club of Cleveland Thursday.
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Protesters held signs reading “Welcome to Cle Dr. Plague” and “RFK is a biohazard”
Former Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup, who is now the executive director for Americans for Health Excellence, moderated the conversation
Kennedy accepted questions from the audience, but did not take questions from the press
Kennedy joined former Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup in a conversation about his first year in the Trump administration and his bid to “Make America Healthy Again” in his role at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“The chronic disease epidemic is the biggest crisis we face as a nation,” Kennedy said. “When you ask the CDC, ‘Why did Americans die of COVID worse than any other country in the world?’ They’d say because we are the sickest country in the world.”
Kennedy attributes chronic illness in the U.S. largely to the American diet. In the last year, Kennedy has partnered with the USDA to flip the food pyramid and has worked with the FDA to remove petroleum-based dyes from the American food supply.
However, Kennedy has faced criticism for rolling back vaccine recommendations and challenging vaccine science. Protester Judy Routhier said Kennedy’s vaccine rhetoric concerns her.
“I’m pro-science all the way,” Routhier said. “And I think that this whole shtick about vaccines causing autism is just baloney; we know it’s baloney. He has no background in medicine whatsoever.”
Protesters held signs reading “Welcome to Cle Dr. Plague” and “RFK is a biohazard.”
One protester held up a sign about SSRIs, a class of medications used to treat depression. Kennedy previously said withdrawing from SSRI medication is worse than heroin withdrawal, a sentiment he echoed at Thursday’s forum.
“I made a public statement that for some people it’s hard to get off, that withdrawal is worse than heroin,” Kennedy said. “The New York Times published a story saying that experts disagree with me, but I happen to be an expert on getting off of heroin.”
Kennedy said he is not telling Americans to stop taking SSRIs, nor is he telling people not to start these medications. However, he said he wants people to be informed of the risks.
Inside, the forum ended on a positive note, with a woman in the audience complimenting Kennedy’s “radical transparency.” Outside, protesters lingered and chanted as people left the event.