It appears that Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, which include vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also known as RFK Jr., Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth, have all previously voiced harsh criticism of the president-elect.
According to information obtained by Knewz.com, the former independent presidential candidate allegedly compared Trump to Hitler and referred to his followers as “belligerent idiots” and “outright nazis.”
A recently rediscovered audio tape from RFK Jr.’s radio program Ring of Fire depicts the then-candidate for president consenting to a harsh critique of Trump and his fan base penned by journalist Matt Taibbi.
In an interview with the journalist himself, RFK Jr. read aloud a piece from Taibi’s critique:
“One of the things that you write so beautifully, and your stuff is so fun to read, but you write about Trump, quote, The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things.”
He went on to quote Taibbi’s article, saying, “We may not have that many outright Nazis in America, but we have plenty of cowards and bootlickers, and once those fleshy dominoes start tumbling into the Trump camp, the game is up.”
In response to Taibbi’s comparison between Hitler and Trump, RFK Jr. stated on the program that the leader of the Third Reich at least “had a plan.”
He’s not like Hitler, you know. Hitler claimed at the time that he had a plan and was interested in policy.
“I don’t believe that Trump possesses any of that. His mental state is non compos mentis. “Who knows what will happen when he gets in there,” RFK Jr. continued.
The nominee for Health Secretary has also made Hitler comparisons to Trump.
He said in a December 2016 episode of Ring of Fire that historically, times of social and economic unrest have produced “demagogues who exploit fear, prejudice and insecurity to gain power,” drawing comparisons between Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco and Trump and Hitler.
During the broadcast, RFK Jr. elaborated on his allegations regarding Trump’s purported fear-mongering:
Additionally, it is evident that Donald Trump bases every statement he makes on fear. We must be afraid of the Muslims, you know. Black people, especially the large Black man Obama, who is ruining our nation and making everyone miserable, must be feared.
Additionally, he contrasted Trump’s rhetoric and efforts to win over his supporters with those of segregationist Alabama Governor George Wallace.
“Wallace s appeal was to White middle-class men who had experienced the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s as a social demotion, and who found their lives in turmoil,” he stated on his radio program.
“And that kind of insecurity, I think, is the target of the summons that Donald Trump has sent out to the American public,” he said.
Trump was also criticized by RFK Jr. for supposedly promoting prosperity based on pollution, reversing the Clean Water Act, and pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Trump has pledged to repeal the Clean Water Act in addition to destroying the climate itself. Therefore, he will just let all forms of pollution in. Trump declared on his radio show at the time that his prosperity will be built on pollution.
Notably, he presented himself as a strong contender to succeed Trump on the December 2016 episode of Ring of Fire, saying:
“And the genius and ability to solve these problems are unique to one person. Furthermore, I won’t reveal to you how I plan to accomplish this. Everything will be fantastic once more if you vote for me and have faith in me. Naturally, the entire situation is akin to a carnival barker.
He started his 2024 presidential campaign as an independent, but he eventually changed his identity and backed Trump, a Republican.
He had only been asked a few weeks before his decision if he would ever contemplate serving in the Trump administration’s cabinet, to which he had said, “No.”
Nonetheless, he is currently Trump’s nominee for Health Secretary, a move that has drawn a lot of criticism from analysts.
The American Public Health Association’s (APHA) executive director, Georges C. Benjamin, reportedly stated that his organization will “absolutely oppose” the nomination and that RFK Jr. is “absolutely the wrong guy for it.”
“He lacks the temperament, management abilities, training, and trust necessary for this position. Following the announcement, Benjamin released a statement saying, “He’s just the wrong guy for it.”
“He is really just a person without a health background who’s already caused great damage in health in the country,” he stated.
“We’re going advocate as loudly and as often as we can to make sure that people know what a risk he is to the public and to the public’s health,” Benjamin added, pointing out the Health Secretary nominee’s doubts about the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
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