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Make America Healthy Again
American political slogan and movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) is an American populist slogan and political movement led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the second Trump administration. The slogan, echoing the "Make America Great Again" phrase popularized by Donald Trump and his ideology, reflects a focus on public health issues. According to one of Kennedy's former publicists, the MAHA movement emphasizes reducing artificial additives in food and beverages and reassessing pediatric health policies, including vaccine practices.[1] MAHA gained broader attention following the suspension of Kennedy's independent presidential campaign in August 2024 and his subsequent endorsement of Republican nominee Donald Trump.[2]
According to its proponents, MAHA's primary beliefs are that there is a chronic illness epidemic in the United States, advocating for what they believe are healthier lifestyle choices (including drinking raw milk, taking dietary supplements and adopting various fad diets), suggesting that autism is caused by environmental effects (especially vaccines) and therefore need to be cured through detoxification, and contending that corruption in the food and pharmaceutical industries is a major source of health problems.[3][4][1][5]
Scientists, medical professionals, and public health officials have criticized the movement, citing concerns about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s previous remarks about vaccines and public health.
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MAHA Commission
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These include The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Renewing America.[6]
An executive order signed February 13, 2025 established the MAHA Commission. The commission is chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and includes other Trump officials, including secretary of education Linda McMahon and director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought.[7] Vince Haley, director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, is executive director.[6][8] The order directed the commission to examine the "prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs" within one hundred days.[9] The commission was also tasked with researching childhood diseases and mental disorders, including autism.[10]
The commission released the MAHA report on May 22.[11] It addresses what the commission sees as the four main causes of health problems in children: poor diet, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity and stress, and overmedicalization.[12][13] According to The New York Times, Nancy Beck, the principal deputy assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, pushed to restrain mentions of pesticides in the commission's report.[14] The Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy's criticisms of pesticides drew ire from some Trump officials.[15] NOTUS later reported that the report had included fake citations.[16]
Kennedy, the committee's chairman, stated in his address that he would use the commission to criticize childhood vaccine schedules and psychiatric medicines.[17] He privately convened the committee's inaugural meeting in March.[18]
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Policy
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Water fluoridation
Water fluoridation, the controlled addition of fluoride to public water supplies to reduce tooth decay, is one of the concerns of the MAHA movement.[19] The public health practice reduces cavities in children and has been praised by dentists and public health experts.[20][21][22] The World Health Organization, FDI World Dental Federation, American Dental Association, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that water fluoridation is safe and effective.[23][24][25] A majority of dental experts and medical institutions, including the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disagree with Kennedy's views on water fluoridation, which is regarded as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.[26][27][25]
Vaccines
In May 2025, under Kennedy's leadership, the CDC stopped recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for children and pregnant women.[28][29] The same month, the HHS suddenly demanded a halt to a clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine pill.[30]
Food
The MAHA movement places strong emphasis on food, specifically regarding the impact of ultra-processed foods on children’s health and chronic disease prevention.[31] Following the FDA’s ban on Red 3 in January 2025,[32] Kennedy announced that the FDA would be focusing on removing petroleum-based artificial food dyes from the American food supply by 2026.[33]
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
In 2025, both Kennedy and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins support preventing SNAP recipients from using benefits for "processed foods and candy".[34] Since that announcement, four states, West Virginia, Idaho, Arkansas and Indiana submitted waivers to overhaul SNAP benefits in their states to restrict usage of benefits for "candy and soda".[35]
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Reception
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A survey conducted in January 2025 by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 30 percent of Americans supported Kennedy's health agenda compared to 42 percent who disapproved, with support among conservatives significantly higher.[36][37]
Make America Healthy Again has been criticized by the mainstream medical community and news outlets, who have said that MAHA mixes promotion of healthy living with public health conspiracy theories, citing the movement's close ties to the anti-vaccine community.[38][39][40]
Proposals of the movement, such as the increased regulation of food and pharmaceutical companies, received early bipartisan support in late 2024 and early 2025, and were praised by Democratic Colorado governor Jared Polis and Independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, despite both Polis and Sanders objecting to Kennedy's views on vaccines.[41][42][43] Sanders called Kennedy's stance on the food industry "exactly correct" but described his broader health views as "extremely dangerous".[43] The bipartisan support collapsed in May 2025 when the Democratic National Committee (DNC) criticized MAHA for fabricating sources in their report.[44] The DNC referred to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a conspiracy theorist, arguing that with his help, "Donald Trump is putting millions of Americans' health care and safety at risk."[45]
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References
External links
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