I Doubt They're That Smart: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Green MAGA' Will Need Blue Allies

For the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Senate confirmation process was a line in the sand. Even the Democrats' most prominent anti-corporate crusaders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—generally admired among the group for their antagonism toward Big Pharma and Big Ag—went into full attack mode on the Health and Human Services nominee during the hearings.

"Never voting for a Democrat again," was a common refrain from scores of online health and wellness influencers, who generally post about the dangers of microplastics and the benefits of back-to-the-land living. "Green MAGA" is now really a thing.

But even as RFK Jr. takes the reins at HHS, his movement is approaching an uncomfortable reckoning. Enacting an agenda to stop the dominance of ultra-processed foods, get toxins out of supply chains, make school lunches nutritious, and stand up for small organic farmers at the expense of Big Ag will be a tall order with only support from a Republican Party that is still deeply wedded to big corporate interests and established rural politics.