U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John. F. Kennedy, is criticizing her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his skepticism of vaccines, calling the views of President-elect Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary “dangerous.”
She noted during remarks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia on Sunday that his views do not align with the rest of the Kennedy family and most of the American people.
“I grew up with him, so I’ve known all this for a long time. Others are just getting to know him,” she said.
“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views.”
Trump nominatd Kennedy last week, one of several controversial picks that will need Senate confirmation.
The Senate GOP overall has given Kennedy’s nonination relatively good reviews, but he may only be able to afford three GOP “no” votes if Democrats are unified against him.
Kennedy has made a series of controversial remarks on vaccines and other issues that could make his road to confirmation more difficult.
In an interview with NBC News earlier this month, Kennedy explicitly stated that the incoming administration would not take away vaccines from the American people.
“If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away. People ought to have [a] choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information,” he said.
“So I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them,” he added.
