President Donald Trump has always been known as the brash one in the current administration, with Vice President JD Vance usually a calm voice of reason.
That changed rather drastically this week after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was raked over the coals during hearings on the Hill after vaccine guidelines were changed, and there was a mass walkout at the CDC.
Vance shredded Democrats for their attacks against Kennedy, but I have to say, the secretary more than held his own.
I have voiced my own concerns about Kennedy, wondering if he has become a major liability for Trump and Republicans.
Kennedy has some great ideas, but he can also be a bit off the hook at times, pushing borderline studies to back his positions. After Thursday's hearing, political pundit Chuck Todd seemed to think that all the negativity surrounding Kennedy would lead to his ouster.
He stated, “He is easily the most unqualified Cabinet secretary we’ve ever had, and we’ve had plenty of unqualified Cabinet secretaries in a number of places, in a number of agencies. This one is putting lives in danger.”
Todd later added, "At some point, this will break, and I do think he throws Kennedy overboard, but, you know, he loves his trophy. And for him, the trophy is I got a Kennedy, right? That’s the biggest problem they’re running into. There are plenty of people in this White House that know this guy is a disaster. Not just politically; this guy is a disaster for all the reasons we’ve been laying out here.”
Todd has been wrong more often than not in his political takes, and his instincts have yet again shown why he lost his NBC Sunday show anchor spot.
Vance immediately came out to support Kennedy, stating, “When I see all these senators trying to lecture and ‘gotcha’ Bobby Kennedy today all I can think is: You all support off-label, untested, and irreversible hormonal ‘therapies’ for children, mutilating our kids and enriching big pharma. You’re full of s— and everyone knows it.”
Kennedy responded, “Thank you @JDVance. You put your finger squarely on the preeminent problem.”
What I do love about Kennedy is that he does not just sit there and take the abuse from lawmakers, and he is usually armed to the teeth with contrarian points. This time, he openly stated how much Democrats were taking from pharma companies, also noting the fact that the health of this country has been in decline for decades, all overseen by the very same individuals trying to embarrass Kennedy now.
Trump has not wavered in his support of Kennedy, either, at least not to this point.
After the hearing, Trump stated, "He means very well. And he's got some little different ideas. I guarantee a lot of the people at this table like RFK Jr., and I do, but he's got a different take, and we want to listen to all of those takes.”
He continued, "But I heard he did very well today. It's not your standard talk. I would say that, and that has to do with medical and vaccines. But if you look at what's going on in the world with health and look at this country also with regard to health, I like the fact that he's different."
There are a lot of Republicans concerned about Kennedy and how he will impact the midterm elections, but Trump seems intent on keeping him around. Now, if the GOP gets crushed in 2026, that may change, but for now, Kennedy appears to have a firm grip on his job.
