Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Shifts Focus to Nutrition and Health in Bid to Win Over Voters

TOLEDO, Ohio — A young boy in a Toy Story sweatshirt clung tightly to the nation’s health secretary. "What do you guys want to be when you grow up?" Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked a room full of preschoolers. "A dinosaur!" the boy replied, squeezing even tighter.

Just weeks earlier, Kennedy had faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill over a surge in infectious diseases among American children. Now, seated in a toddler-sized chair in Ohio, he was on a mission to shift the conversation. Advised to avoid his controversial anti-vaccine rhetoric, Kennedy is now promoting the least controversial—and most popular—parts of his agenda as part of the White House’s push to retain Republican voters disillusioned with President Donald Trump.

In early May, Kennedy launched his "Take Back Your Health" tour, crisscrossing northern Ohio, including a key congressional district Republicans hope to flip in November. Dressed in blue suits and jeans, he visited a Toledo daycare center funded by the Head Start program, inspected a farm growing pesticide-free produce, and even operated robotic hands at the Cleveland Clinic during a live heart surgery.

At a Huron, Ohio, farm that rejects chemical use, Kennedy sampled microgreens. Reducing chemical use in food production aligns with the goals of the Make America Healthy Again movement.

"I am dismantling a corrupt system and replacing it with something better, replacing it with something that actually addresses the declining healthy American population," Kennedy told KFF Health News during an exclusive interview at a farmhouse. "People are paying attention to what they eat, and the industry is listening; the industry is changing."

Kennedy highlighted his recent accomplishments, including pressuring companies to remove dyes from foods, updating nutritional guidance, and redefining ultraprocessed foods. However, his tour faced contradictions amid Trump administration policies. For example, at the Clever Bee Academy, where Kennedy’s "Eat Real Food" posters and a redesigned food pyramid were displayed, he awarded a $30,000 federal grant to upgrade the center’s kitchen and community garden. Yet, his visit came months after the White House proposed eliminating the $12 billion Head Start program, which serves many low-income children at the academy.