New polling about Health and Human Services Secret Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and elements of his policy agenda shows how his “Make America Healthy Again” push doesn’t break down along the same neat partisan lines as some other issues, creating some political vulnerability and some opportunity.
A significant majority of U.S. adults support using vaccines to prevent diseases, including majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents, according to the NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey. And the share of people who believe vaccines are most to blame for chronic health issues is small, two dynamics that are at odds with Kennedy’s repeated efforts to cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Kennedy has long spread misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines. As health secret, he recently dismantled the country’s premier group of vaccine experts — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent committee of vaccine advisers — and replaced former members with several well-known vaccine skeptics.
The poll results suggest those actions don’t resonate with the majority of adults.
But Kennedy’s focus on overhauling the nation’s intake of ultraprocessed food — a key part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda — is an issue many adults can get behind.
The most popular answer to the poll question about what deserves the most blame for America’s chronic health problems was the food industry, at 35%, followed closely by the choices of individuals, at 32%. Kennedy has also targeted environmental toxins as one of the most urgent health issues in the United States, but 6% of respondents agreed that such toxins were the most important reason behind chronic health problems.
The public is fairly closely divided over its view of Kennedy himself, with a 51% majority viewing him favorably and 48% viewing him unfavorably. The majority of Democrats’ view Kennedy “strongly unfavorably,” while a slim majority of Republicans view him “somewhat favorably.”
Those who identify more with the MAGA movement, as opposed to considering themselves primarily supporters of the Republican Party, are far more likely to have “strongly favorable” views of Kennedy.
On vaccines, 49% of adults say they “strongly support” using vaccines to prevent diseases, with 31% more saying they “somewhat support” it.
Another 13% “somewhat oppose” using vaccines to prevent diseases, and 7% oppose it “strongly.”
