President Donald Trump seemed to have reached a private opinion that Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and extreme health policy positions have ventured into the realm of the ridiculous, according to journalist Michael Wolff during an appearance on The Daily Beast’s “Inside Trump’s Head” podcast.
“I know that he’s been calling around and saying to people, you know, ‘I hear people say, Bobby is crazy. You think he’s crazy?'” Wolff revealed to his co-host Joanna Coles. “And you know the answer he wants.”
The president appears to be creating space between himself and the cabinet member he selected. Based on a Wall Street Journal account from the previous week, administration officials are becoming concerned that Kennedy’s policy platform might harm Republican contenders in the 2026 midterm races, an electoral contest already forecast to be difficult for the GOP.
The alleged presidential criticism arrives as Kennedy’s attack on mainstream medical science keeps producing escalating scandals—from promoting discredited vaccine claims to removing experienced scientists from government health institutions. His time in office has overlapped with measles infections climbing to their highest level in over 30 years, with the United States documenting more than 2,286 confirmed cases in 2025, the highest number since the illness was declared eliminated in 2000. By the end of March 2026, the CDC had documented over 1,575 more confirmed cases.
Kennedy has methodically torn down critical elements of the nation’s public health system since assuming his position. In June 2025, he terminated all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, asserting a “clean sweep” was necessary to “reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.” He removed CDC Director Susan Monarez in late August following her refusal to automatically approve vaccine policy modifications and dismiss senior personnel. Monarez’ legal representatives characterized the firing as politically driven, stating she “chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda.”
The health secretary has advanced progressively outlandish medical claims throughout his term. Kennedy asserted without proof that nations using the most acetaminophen experience the highest autism rates. He also asserted he had watched a TikTok video of a woman “gobbling Tylenol” who had a “baby in her placenta.” The president himself later advised expectant mothers and parents to avoid acetaminophen based on these unfounded assertions.
Following Kennedy’s leadership, the CDC modified its website to challenge the prevailing scientific consensus that vaccines do not trigger autism. His personally selected vaccine advisers have challenged immunizing infants against hepatitis B, while Kennedy raised questions about the measles vaccine and advocated unverified therapies. “This was everybody’s fear about having RFK Jr. as our HHS secretary,” stated Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Pandemic Center at Brown University.
Over 1,000 present and past HHS workers signed an open letter declaring Kennedy is “compromising the health of this nation” and calling for his resignation. Confidence in the CDC among the public has fallen to its lowest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A shooting attack at the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters on August 8, 2025, resulted in the death of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose. The attacker, allegedly driven by vaccine skepticism, discharged more than 200 rounds into CDC facilities. Officially, however, a motive was not confirmed. Previous CDC staff members attributed Kennedy’s incendiary language and false information for contributing to the violence.
The tension between the president and Kennedy allegedly escalated following Trump’s signing of an executive order on February 18, 2026, activating the Defense Production Act to mandate domestic manufacturing of glyphosate-containing herbicides. The action shocked Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again followers, considering that Kennedy had previously secured a $289 million in a lawsuit against Monsanto for a man who alleged his cancer resulted from Roundup, the commercial name for glyphosate products.
A May 2025 analysis from Kennedy’s own MAHA Commission observed glyphosate and atrazine detected in the blood of children and expectant mothers at “alarming levels.” However, the follow-up strategy document included no reference to glyphosate, and the Trump administration sided with Bayer in a forthcoming Supreme Court matter that could dismiss thousands of legal actions claiming Roundup triggers cancer. Oral arguments are set for April 27, 2026.
Kennedy was allegedly not informed the glyphosate executive order was forthcoming, according to CNBC, but later stated he was aware. MAHA advocates responded with outrage, perceiving the decision as a violation of Kennedy’s proclaimed values approaching the 2026 midterm contests. Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, characterized the order as “a big middle finger to every MAHA mom.”
In May 2025, Kennedy declared that the federal CDC would discontinue recommending COVID-19 booster shots for healthy children and pregnant women, leading major medical organizations to challenge the revision. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists maintain their recommendation for vaccination for these populations despite the CDC’s modified guidance. Kennedy also revealed newly designated members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, maintaining his emphasis on the developmental condition despite the absence of scientific support for his hypotheses about its origins.
The alleged presidential dissatisfaction with Kennedy indicates possible boundaries to how extensively Trump will permit his health secretary’s platform to advance. Concurrently, Republican opposition to Kennedy’s appointees has expanded. Senator Bill Cassidy, who provided a crucial vote to confirm Kennedy, has openly criticized him regarding mRNA vaccine funding reductions. Nevertheless, Kennedy has avoided the series of terminations that recently occurred throughout the Department of Homeland Security, making his status in the administration unclear as Republican resistance grows.
