Members of the Make America Health Again movement are in open revolt after founder Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly backed President Trump’s executive order Wednesday that would increase domestic production of glyphosate—a pesticide the MAHA movement and Kennedy have railed against.
Vani Hari, an ally of Kennedy who goes by “Food Babe,” told The Washington Post she was left “speechless” by the move.
“We truly were hoping that this administration would put people over corporate power,” she said, “but this action moves us away from that commitment.”
Trump’s executive order invoked the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup products. Currently, the US imports large quantities of glyphosate from China, according to Reuters.
The MAHA movement has been vehemently opposed to the use of glyphosate, claiming it contributes to childhood health problems. In 2024, Kennedy—an anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer who was then running for president—wrote on social media: “The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. … Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide. From there it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice.”
But now, after becoming US health secretary under Trump, Kennedy is supporting domestic glyphosate production. In a statement to CNBC, Kennedy said that Trump’s executive order “puts America first where it matters most—our defense readiness and our food supply.”
“We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it. When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security. By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families,” he said.
Fallout
Dave Murphy, founder and CEO of United We Eat and former finance manager on Kennedy’s presidential campaign, told Reuters that the order was a “strategic mistake” that could serve as an election liability. “Trump would not be in the White House this second time without those followers, and we expect him to live up to his word,” Murphy said.
Fallout has continued online over the move, and MAHA organizers are scrambling.
Alex Clark, a health and wellness podcaster for the conservative group Turning Point USA, told The New York Times that “Women feel like they were lied to, that MAHA movement is a sham,” he said. “How am I supposed to rally these women to vote red in the midterms? How can we win their trust back? I am unsure if we can.”
Meanwhile, MAHA influencer Kelly Ryerson, who goes by the moniker “Glyphosate Girl” online, told Politico, “I’m witnessing the bottom falling out on MAHA. People came along on MAHA because of pesticides and foods. It wasn’t because of vaccines.”
Zen Honeycutt, executive director of the grassroots group Moms Across America, told Politico in a statement that the fallout will have real consequences.
“To put toxic farming and businesses before the health and safety of our children is a betrayal of every voter who voted for him to [Make America Healthy Again],” she said. “The repercussions are not going to just affect the midterms, but the health of millions of Americans for generations to come.”
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