Because Donald Trump always—of course—places the national interest before his own narrow political needs, he is now prepared to name Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a second-term transition team, a Trump adviser tells The New York Times. This comes right after Kennedy endorsed Trump, having ended his own crashing-and-burning third-party presidential bid last week—which is surely pure coincidence and could not possibly have figured into Trump’s decision-making.
The temptation among some Democrats will be strong to treat this as low comedy, by highlighting Kennedy’s “weirdness” as part of the broader party strategy of mocking Trump at every opportunity. But Democrats should also cast this move—the idea that Trump would even suggest putting the anti-vax, conspiracy-theory-spouting, whale-head-chainsawing Kennedy anywhere near such an influential role—as a serious danger to the nation and another sign of Trump’s towering unfitness for the presidency.
Kennedy himself has confirmed his bargain with Trump. “We’re working on policy issues together,” Kennedy said recently, adding that he has been asked “to help pick the people who will be running the government, and I am looking forward to that.”
This might give Kennedy a big hand in recommending people for positions in the federal bureaucracy that are instrumental in maintaining public health. It’s worth appreciating that these positions comprise a wide-ranging set of roles, from promoting research into human wellness and development, to protecting the environment, to guaranteeing the safety of food, drugs, medical devices and procedures, and much more.
Kennedy has a well-documented history of promoting dangerous quackery and deranged conspiracy theories about vaccines, pharmaceuticals, guns, and other issues related to........