Hillary Clinton slams RFK Jr. and anti-science push, says lives are at stake

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday sharply condemned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and accused the Trump administration of turning the clock back on public health, saying the spread of crackpot ideas is costing lives. Clinton spoke during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe after a Monday press conference in which Health and Human Services Secretary and President Donald Trump offered a series of unproven statements about Tylenol, childhood vaccines and autism.

"I mean, this is so crazy, it’s so wrongheaded, it’s so shortsighted. And it’s going to cost lives," Clinton said, adding that the remarks were creating confusion for ordinary Americans.

"These guys want to literally turn the clock back." She noted that the statements come from both the president and RFK Jr., and she argued they would undermine trust in public health guidance at a time when clarity matters.

"When your president says something, when a Kennedy, who’s the secretary of HHS, says something, what are you supposed to believe?" Clinton asked. "You know, people are confused. And too many Americans are listening to this, you know, very destructive anti-science tirade that we’re hearing from this administration. And it’s going to cost lives. It already is costing lives."

In a separate statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai pushed back, saying Clinton's "open contempt and condescension towards everyday Americans is exactly why she so devastatingly lost in 2016 to President Trump and why she’s no longer relevant." The White House did not provide additional remarks on the policy questions Clinton raised, but Desai framed her critique as an example of political irrelevance.

The remarks come as Clinton, a former secretary of state who was the Democratic nominee against Trump in 2016, sought to cast the GOP-aligned messaging on health issues as dangerous to public safety. Kennedy Jr., a prominent advocate and political figure known for vaccine-skeptic views, has criticized official health guidance on vaccines and other public-health topics, which Clinton linked to the broader debate surrounding the administration’s approach to science and policy.

The episode highlights the ongoing tension within national politics over how to respond to public-health information and how to communicate such information to an anxious public. As campaigns approach, aides suggested the exchange would be cited by Democrats to argue for maintaining science-based policies and communications, while Republicans argued that critics are weaponizing health questions for political gain.