Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Has to Go

Bernie Sanders has written a scathing op-ed about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding that the health secretary resign because he is "endangering American lives." In his New York Times piece, the Vermont senator focuses on vaccines. "It is absurd to have to say this in 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective," writes Sanders. "That, of course, is not just my view. Far more important, it is the overwhelming consensus of the medical and scientific communities." Sanders cites the views of organizations including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics to make his case.

No credible scientist or doctor backs Kennedy's "absurd" and "ridiculous" views that vaccines on everything from polio to COVID do more harm than good, writes Sanders. Instead, many of his backers come from Children's Health Defense— "the anti-vaccine group he founded and profited from." In the short run, Kennedy will make vaccines more difficult to obtain. The long run is scarier, given that another pandemic is inevitable, writes Sanders. Kennedy, in short, is jeopardizing "the health of the American people now and into the future. He must resign." Read the full op-ed.