For many mothers, the COVID-19 pandemic was the moment they took a second look at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Before 2020, he was known to many mainstream suburban mothers as a kooky coconspirator of actress Jenny McCarthy, back when anti-vaccine views were on the societal fringes.
Then the pandemic happened. And suddenly, the idea that the entire medical establishment was conspiring and keeping vital health information from the public, that it didn’t have the health of children at the top of the agenda, turned from a fringe view to being far more mainstream. The pathway to optimal health became polarized, and for Democrats, it was represented by strong faith in the medical and health establishment, embodied by government bureaucrats such as Dr. Anthony Fauci. For Republicans and many independents, these bureaucrats weren’t just not the experts, but they became the villains.
