Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

What is circulating

“In a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on 10 September 2026, Kennedy said American children are "the sickest children in the history of the world."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim False. For most of history about half of children died before puberty, and in 1900 one in five U.S. children died before age 5, while the U.S. under-5 mortality rate is now about 80 percent below the global average. U.S. children ages 1 to 19 did have a mortality rate 80 percent higher than peers in other rich countries from 2007 to 2022, but that does not support the claim.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“In a CNN interview on 2 August 2026, Kennedy said: "We had the highest death rate from COVID of any nation on earth."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · news report

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim False. Johns Hopkins data through March 2023 show Peru had 665.84 COVID deaths per 100,000 people against 341.11 in the U.S., which ranked 14th. The U.S. case fatality ratio of 1.1 percent was also lower than several countries; it led only in total deaths, more than 1.1 million.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on 22 April 2026 about drug price cuts, Kennedy said "there's two ways of calculating percentage" and that cutting a $600 drug to $10 is "a 600% reduction."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Pants on Fire. Cutting a $600 drug to $10 is a $590 reduction, or 98.3 percent, and a price decrease cannot exceed 100 percent without the seller paying the buyer. Percentage increases can exceed 100 percent, but the same arithmetic does not apply to decreases.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Announcing new dietary guidelines on 7 January 2026, Kennedy said: "90% of health care spending treats chronic disease."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim False. The 2017 RAND figure counted all spending on people who have chronic conditions, nearly 60 percent of Americans, not spending to treat those conditions, and a co-author said the claim misstated the report. A 2025 projection put chronic disease treatment at about $2.2 trillion a year, roughly 42 percent of more than $5.3 trillion in spending.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Speaking at George Washington University on 17 November 2025, Kennedy said: "We're not cutting science. We're not cutting research."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Pants on Fire. A JAMA Internal Medicine letter found 383 NIH supported clinical trials, involving more than 74,000 participants, lost funding between February and August 2025, and Grant Witness counted more than 4,400 NIH grants stopped. About 52 percent of terminated grants had been restored by 19 November, leaving roughly 2,500 terminated or frozen, and HHS also cancelled nearly $500 million in mRNA projects.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“At a Senate hearing on 14 May 2025, when Sen. Chris Murphy listed Kennedy's past claims that the measles vaccine wanes quickly, was never safety tested and contains fetal debris, Kennedy replied: "All true. All true."”

Claimed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary · official statement

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim False. Two doses of measles vaccine are about 97 percent effective and experts consider the protection lifelong, and the combined MMR vaccine was approved in 1971 after extensive clinical testing, with ongoing surveillance. The rubella component is grown in fetal cell lines from the 1960s, but the vaccine contains no whole fetal cells, only possible DNA fragments measured in picograms.

Fact check: PolitiFact