Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. gives remarks in the Oval Office after being sworn in as the Secretary of Health & Human Services:
“For 20 years, I’ve gotten up every morning and prayed that God would put me in a position where I could end the childhood chronic disease epidemic.”
KENNEDY: I want to being by thanking President Trump for giving me this extraordinary opportunity, and I want to introduce my family and thank them for being here. My wife, Cheryl; my cousin, Anthony Shriver; my daughter, Kick; my other daughter, Kyra; Carolina — Carolina Shriver; Joey Shriver; Jackson Hines; and Amaryllis Kennedy. Oh, and I want to thank all of you so — for your support and throughout this whole two-and-a-half-year journey.
My first time in this Oval Office was in 1962. I came here, and I had a meeting with my uncle, who was president then, where we talked about the environment. He was involved deeply, as we all know, in restoring physical fitness in this country. He challenged — at one point during his administration, he challenged Americans to do a 50-mile walk, which I ultimately did. But I remember the day that my father completed his walk. We were staying at Camp David. And my father came in after 18 hours walking on the C&O towpath with his feet bleeding and blisters on them.
My father had a — one of his best friends was Al Lowenstein. And Al Lowenstein ultimately he was a congressman from New York who was assassinated himself in 1980. But Al Lowenstein had started the “Dump Johnson” movement to get rid of President Johnson and — and end the Vietnam War. And at the time that he started it, people just thought it was a fool’s errand. And ultimately, he asked my father to run for president against Johnson. My father wouldn’t do it at that time, and he asked Gene McCarthy. McCarthy did it, and he joined that campaign. And my father ultimately ran, and Johnson then dropped out. So, Al Lowenstein had succeeded. And although Al Lowenstein was on the other side now running against my father with Gene McCarthy, my father wrote him a note — a quote from Emerson — where he said, “If a single man plants himself firmly on his own ideal, and there abide, the whole wide world will come around to him.”
For 20 years, I’ve gotten up every morning on my knees and prayed that God would put me in a position where I can end the childhood chronic disease epidemic in this country. On August 23rd of last year, God sent me President Trump, and he gave me — (applause) — he’s now given me — he’s kept every promise that he’s made to me. He’s kept his word in every account and gone way beyond it.
I’m so grateful to you, Mr. President. A lot of people told me that I couldn’t trust President Trump, that I better get it in writing. And we did a handshake, and everything that he told me he was going to do, he has done. And I’m so grateful to him.
And I’ve told you before, I genuinely believe that you are a pivotal historical figure, and you are going to transform this country at a time when we see all of the indicia of democracy now in tatters in our country. We see the rise of the military-industrial complex, the rise of totalitarianism, these attacks on our Constitution, and this breathtaking epidemic that is disabling our people. President Trump has promised to restore the American dream in this country. A healthy person has a thousand dreams. A sick person only has one. Sixty percent of our population has only one dream: that they get better.
President Trump has promised that he’s going to restore America’s strength. But we can’t be a strong nation if we have a weak citizenry. If people are sick 60% our people are sick. 77%, as President Trump mentioned, of our children cannot qualify for military service.
We need a man on a white horse now. We need somebody who — who is willing to come in and has the spine and the guts and the strength to challenge orthodoxies, to stand in the way of vested interests, and to break institutions that have turned against our democracy. President Trump has shown again and again that he is that hero.
Most recently, I greatly appreciate, and I called you the day that you announced the termination of USAID. My uncle started USAID in 1961 for humanitarian purposes, to put our country on the side of the poor. It has been captured by the military-industrial complex. It has become a sinister propagator of totalitarianism across — and war across the globe, and very few people understand how sinister this agency really is. President Trump saw that, he stood up to it with a master stroke.
We want to do the same thing with the institutions that are stealing the health of our children. We need a revolutionary figure, and you are that figure. I’m very grateful for you for giving me this opportunity.
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RFK introduced wife & family, remarks: Trump kept every promise he’s made to me, revolutionary figure