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On Thursday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), gave a keynote speech to an anti-vaccine group he once led.

Kennedy — a noted anti-vaxxer who has consistently peddled dangerous disinformation to the public — appeared at a conference held by Children’s Health Defense. During his speech, he sought to assure concerned members of the group that he was still allied with them, despite downplaying his controversial views while trying to get confirmed to his post last year.

“Let me be clear. You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House,” Kennedy said in his speech.

Kennedy asked those gathered before him to be patient with his efforts, ambiguously stating that “we are doing this one day at a time.”

Despite measles case numbers reaching record highs this year compared to the past several decades, Kennedy only addressed the situation once in his speech, asking his audience to “care about every child who dies from measles,” adding that “they get headlines.” In the same breath, he called for the audience to “care about children who are dying or suffering or being injured by vaccine injuries,” a highly exaggerated anti-vax talking point.

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