Kennedy Swaps Vaccine Rhetoric for Story Time but Can’t Quite Change the Subject

Here in Washington, we’ve been hearing about tensions between the White House and one of its most controversial — but, at least in some circles, most popular — figures: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Polling of likely voters indicates that the Health and Human Services secretary can be an asset to Republicans when he’s talking about improving the nation’s food supply or labeling ultraprocessed foods. But when he’s talking about removing recommendations for routine childhood vaccinations, he can be a detriment.

So, when I learned Kennedy would be taking his show on the road to my home state of Ohio, where populist figures tend to perform well, I knew I had to be there. How would a politician who built his reputation seeding widespread doubts about routine childhood immunizations stay away from one of the core messages he’s preached for years?

Well, it turns out, he starts by reading a book about a trash truck to preschoolers.