Robert F. Kennedy Jr, known for anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, to campaign in KC area
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-shot candidate in the Democratic primary for president who has based his campaign on conspiracy theories, will speak in Olathe Saturday at a conference hosted by an anti-vaccine group.
He is slated to speak Saturday afternoon at a Freedom Revival in the Heartland event hosted by Kansans for Health Freedom, an organization that has sought to undercut the power of public health officials in Kansas and undercut vaccine requirements for adults and school children. The conference is at the Olathe Embassy Suites and is sponsored by the Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization Kennedy founded.
Although the conference is not a formal campaign appearance, Kennedy is hosting a private campaign fundraiser Saturday evening at an undisclosed restaurant in the Kansas City area.
Kennedy’s campaign did not respond to The Star’s request for comment.
Public health advocates say Kennedy’s candidacy and platform pose a risk as he uses his famous family name to advance long disproven myths about vaccines. Those ideas have gained momentum in recent years as anger over COVID-19 prevention measures and vaccine requirements pushed once fringe positions into the mainstream.
“At a time when we’ve already have public confusion and fear this could lead to a further decline in vaccination rate and a danger to public health,” said Becky Christensen, state campaigns director for the SAFE Communities Coalition, a national pro-vaccine group.
Though Kennedy’s candidacy is unlikely to succeed, he is polling second in the Democratic primary for 2024 with support driven in part by his famous family name. Kennedy is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy, a U.S. attorney general and senator who was assassinated while running for president in 1968.
A recent poll from the British pollster YouGov and Yahoo News shows Kennedy trailing incumbent President Joe Biden by 52 percentage points with only 7% of support among Democratic primary voters.
Kennedy has falsely claimed the COVID-19 vaccine killed more people than it saved and has suggested the pandemic itself was a government conspiracy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has consistently said the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. Standard childhood vaccines, the agency says, are important tools to prevent serious illness.
Kansans for Health Freedom was a driving group behind efforts in the Kansas Legislature to roll back the power of public health officials and vaccine requirements. In 2021 the organization lobbied lawmakers for a special session to push back on COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Its members have testified about unproven risks from COVID-19 and other vaccines.
Debbie Mize, the organization’s vice president, said she does not consider the group anti-vaccine but that she opposes any sort of mandate. Though Kansans for Health Freedom does not make political endorsements, Mize said they invited Kennedy to speak at the event because of his reputation as a renowned speaker in the “health freedom” movement.
While others are dismissed for their positions, Mize said, Kennedy is not.
“I believe Mr. Kennedy is not going to be shut down,” Mize said. “He knows the truth about a whole lot of things. And he knows that if we don’t fight for our rights to live in a free nation we will lose it. And I think there’s a whole lot of people that are resonating with that message right now.”
Christensen, with the SAFE Communities Coalition, said that notoriety is precisely what makes Kennedy concerning. His family name helps him get meetings with lawmakers and governors that others may not have access to.
As lawmakers continue to face pressure from anti-vaccine activists to roll back vaccine requirements Gretchen Homan, board president at the Kansas chapter of the American Association of Pediatrics, said she worries those policies could make it harder for families to access vaccines.
Within her own pediatric work, Homan said, she sees very little skepticism over vaccines and finds that families want their child to have access to a key prevention tool.
“I think it’s less common than the political discussion makes it seem,” she said. “The far majority of families schedule appointments, want to be vaccinated on time. They want to keep their kids safe and healthy.”
