Trump Is Forcing His Loyalists To Keep RFK Jr On A “Short Leash”

Before he became an anti-science crusader and a member of Team Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was a staunch progressive with beliefs and ideals that mirrored Bernie Sanders. It is because of this that Trump’s transition team has said that they are going to surround Kennedy, should he get confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, with MAGA loyalists that will keep him on a “short leash” and work to make sure he doesn’t fall back into some of his old liberal habits. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

The people inside Donald Trump's inner circle do not trust Robert F. Kennedy Jr. For a second. According to a new report from Politico Trump transition team members have already worked out some safeguards will call them to make sure that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Should he get confirmed to be the director of the Health and Human Services Department, doesn't fall back into his old liberal ways or let any of his previous liberal leanings influence his decision making At HHS, here is what Politico is reporting Transition Officials plan to install several longtime GOP allies and senior roles across the health department, filling out key parts of Kennedy's leadership team well before he could be confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary, the push aims to surround Kennedy with conservative policy makers who can compensate for his lack of government experience and MAGA credentials, while also ensuring the White House can keep close tabs on an HHS nominee who many Trump aids still don't fully trust.

This is how they treat treat you Bobby. They wanna keep you on what the political article calls a short leash. They wanna make sure that all those things you used to talk about on Ring of Fire back when it was just a radio show on Air America, that you don't do those things. You know, like you don't hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, that you don't try to lower the cost of prescription drugs. That you don't cut out all these middlemen and middle women in the health insurance industry that cause our rates to go through the roof while still denying our claims. You know, the real progressive principles that I remember you talking about every week. Maybe that person is still in there. Maybe that's why these Trump people are so scared of what you could do. Maybe you've pulled the wool over all our eyes and you're not really maga, but you're just pretending to be.

So you can be a real progressive in HHS. I don't believe that for a second. And let's not pretend that you don't have some very dangerous views on vaccines that of course are not backed up by science. I would love more than anything for Kennedy to go into HHS and actually be the person that he used to be back when he was with Ring of Fire. But I don't think that person exists anymore. I think that person got too, uh, you know, caught up in his own BS with the vaccines and all that nonsense. He doesn't like being told that he was wrong, you know, which he was with the Deadly Immunity article. And so I think that's what caused him to kind of double down, triple down, basically make that his entire identity as opposed to the person who used to go out there talking about corporate

Pollution, talking about the fossil fuel industry denying science. And you've become that very thing now, denying the science of these vaccines. The person that I knew, the person that I had worked with doesn't exist anymore. That is a fantasy. That's nothing more than a memory, but it's a memory that even these Trump aids have and they don't want the memories of Kennedy past coming back to maybe actually do some good at the Department of Health and Human Services. So if there are any people out there that think that, hey, well Kennedy used to be progressive, maybe a little bit of that'll come through. No, don't get your hopes up because even if he wanted to, these Trump people are putting the folks in place to make sure that doesn't happen.