Redfield says success largely depends on a future Trump admin's ability to combat regulatory capture.
Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has in recent years demonstrated his relative immunity to group-think, particularly the strain that infected the medical establishment during the pandemic.
For rejecting the zoonotic origins narrative curated by Anthony Fauci and accepted by prominent personalities in the American medical community, the conservative Christian virologist and HIV researcher received death threats. These, however, did not secure his silence, and Redfield's theories about the virus, its lab origin, and the outbreak timeline have since been recognized widely as the best explanations.
The esteemed virologist appears to have found another narrative to quash, arguing that contrary to claims made by so-called health experts, President Donald Trump stands a good chance of making America healthy again with the help of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"President Trump has pledged, if elected, to establish a panel of top experts working with Kennedy to investigate what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases," Redfield noted in a Tuesday op-ed. "He specifically mentioned autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, and infertility. In 2019, when we took steps to take on the chronic disease epidemic, we also focused on creating earlier interventions in diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and more."
Over 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition.
Highlighting Kennedy's commitment to begin lifting the chronic disease burden dramatically inside two years, Redfield wrote, "I believe him. And I think President Trump will empower him. I support their noble effort to heal our children."
Redfield stressed that America has "become a sick nation," noting that:
- chronic disease accounts for over 75% of the country's $4.5 trillion in annual heath care expenditure;
- over 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition; and
- childhood obesity has skyrocketed from the mid-1960s from around 4% to 20% this year.