Mike Bloomberg warns RFK junior HHS secretary at risk of killing Americans, urges Senate to reject him

Billionaire and public health advocate Mike Bloomberg Excoriated on Tuesday Robert F. Kennedy JrPresident-elect Donald TrumpIn his comparison, the selection for the US Secretary of Health Anti-vaccine record And urged the Senate to reject his bid to lead the nation’s top health agencies.

“Imagine if RFK Jr. had been in office during Trump’s first term,” Bloomberg said. Bloomberg American Health Summit In Washington DC

“Will do. Operation warp speed What happened? And if so, how long would the vaccine be delayed? How few people would have been shot? And how many people would have died?”

“All we can say for sure is this: it would have made Covid more deadly and economically more painful,” he said.

Giving RFK Jr. the power to run US health policy, he warned, “would be more than dangerous, it would be massive medical malpractice.”

The former New York City mayor devoted nearly all of his 19-minute speech to criticizing Kennedy’s misinformation about vaccines, including his “provocation.” false claim“That the CoVID-19 vaccine was the deadliest vaccine ever.”

Bloomberg, who is running for president as a Democrat in 2020, has long advocated for public health reform as mayor and through his philanthropic efforts.

RFK Jr. initially ran for president as a Democrat in 2024, but switched to an independent bid and later withdrew his endorsement of Trump.

An environmental advocate and the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s campaign gave him a prominent national platform and fueled his conspiracy theories about vaccines.

In Tuesday’s speech, Bloomberg appealed directly to U.S. senators not to confirm RFK Jr.’s cabinet role in the Trump administration.

“We cannot allow Kennedy or Trump or anyone else to inflict unimaginable suffering on the American people,” he said.

Bloomberg expressed hope that Senate Republicans would convince Trump to reconsider RFK Jr.’s nomination, but if Trump sticks to his choice, the Senate would be “for our entire country, but especially for our children.” For, duty. No vote,” he said.

Bloomberg also admonished Democrats who see RFK Jr. as open to leading the Department of Health and Human Services because of his advocacy against junk food and processed foods.

“We don’t need to choose between someone who is pro-health food and pro-vaccine. Americans deserve both,” he said.

Bloomberg notes that he fought for it. Multiple Restrictions on unhealthy products while he was mayor, including an effort to ban high-sugar drinks. These battles provoked a backlash from conservatives at the time and affected consumer industries at the time.

But RFK Jr. has taken a similar strategy, endorsing a plan he says aims to “make America healthy again” with Republicans.

Bloomberg credited his efforts for increasing New Yorkers’ life expectancy, and noted the investments his philanthropic foundation is making to fight diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

“But if the federal government backs away from vaccines, all that progress will be lost,” he said, adding that doing so could result in millions of unnecessary deaths.

Bloomberg argued that if the government starts investing in “nutty conspiracy theories,” then funding for research into cures for other diseases could be held back for years.

“It boggles the mind that the Senate would consider giving Kennedy any authority over American health policy,” he said.

“Whatever one might think of his positions on food policies, it’s nowhere close to overcoming his opposition to vaccines.”