Can an RFK Jr. action figure help cement the MAHA-MAGA alliance?

STAT News · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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WASHINGTON — America’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., became an action figure fighting artificial red dye in school lunches on Thursday. Before that, he was transported to a rave by a sip of whole milk. He got a face tattoo to match that of boxer Mike Tyson. He put Santa on a diet and exercise regimen and strolled with a penguin to a soaring organ soundtrack. At least that’s what AI-generated versions of the health secretary have done in a series of videos posted not by admirers but by Kennedy himself, or at least his staff. It’s not always artificial intelligence, though: Last week, he posted a video of himself exercising with Kid Rock, set to Kid Rock’s own music. The videos of the secretary, who has cultivated a passionate following on certain issues thanks to his Make America Healthy Again movement, have been posted to official channels of the Department of Health and Human Services. While President Trump is known for his in-your-face embrace of social media, Kennedy’s tactics stand out, even among past HHS secretaries with political ambitions: They’re provocative — some feature the secretary shirtless (and in jeans, of course) — and seem to be aimed at eliciting a response from the public as he does pullups at an airport, sports a (doctored) face tattoo mirroring Tyson’s, stars in MAHA-themed valentines, and swaps traditional birthday cake for steak. After the video of a Kennedy as an action figure was posted Thursday on the social media platform X, one commenter posted in response: “Is this a campaign ad, meme or official government communication?” Kennedy’s recent posts seem to be part of a strategy to create fervor around Kennedy and his agenda that leaders of his Make America Healthy Again movement hope will cement the alliance between it and Trump’s Make America Great Again movement as the midterms near. And it may be working. The posts often rack up thousands of likes and reposts, including by other officials like Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. Not everyone is a fan. Public health experts have been alarmed by cuts Kennedy has made at HHS and the agencies it oversees, as well as changes to vaccine policies in particular. Vaccine issues are increasingly seen as a political liability for the administration, prompting the White House to try to shift HHS’ focus toward issues seen as political wins, like those related to healthy foods and drug pricing. Most of Kennedy’s own posting seemingly reflects his fight against ultraprocessed foods, food dyes, and high drug prices.Liam Nahill, HHS’ Gen Z digital communications director, who seems to be the maestro of at least some of Kennedy’s social media ambitions, regularly posts on LinkedIn the videos the department produces. That includes a fake scene from the show “South Park” in which Kennedy urges the food pyramid be turned upside down as well as a video of Kennedy shrouded in darkness as various headlines focused on his fight against artificial dyes flash across the screen before Kennedy’s eyes glow red. Nahill is even featured in a video, indulgently attempting to snack on a donut, before Tyson, now a de facto spokesperson for HHS’ healthy foods initiatives, slaps it out of his hand. “At HHS, we’re breaking the internet with one simple message: EAT REAL FOOD!” Nahill wrote in a post. Nahill, who was previously the creative director for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, didn’t respond to a request for an interview. An HHS spokesperson did not respond to request for comment. While the unusual, certainly unorthodox, messaging strategies come across as lighthearted, they could be important to the future of the MAHA movement. Kennedy “has to be this leader,” Jeffrey Tucker, president and founder of the MAHA-aligned Brownstone Institute, told STAT. “When Trump told him to ‘go wild,’ that was really an invitation for him to come into his own, lead his people, do his thing.” But the MAHA movement has increasingly been at odds with elements of the administration — particularly when it comes to policies that encourage the supply of pesticides, which are anathema to MAHA leaders, and a recent shake-up of leadership at Kennedy’s HHS. For Kennedy’s movement to retain power in the administration, it will have to continue to prove politically viable for a White House focused on midterm results. High-impact messaging — and the broad political support it aims to drive — could be a boon for the Trump administration. “What you need is enthusiasm behind your base,” Tucker said. “It’s up to the MAHA world at this point to flex its power and influence in the interest of the midterms.” The political considerations are different than they were under the HHS of previous administrations. Marissa Padilla, executive vice president at Global Strategies Group, worked on communications at HHS under the Obama administration — and said they never came close to considering posts like those from Kennedy. “Creativity in service of expanding audience is always a good idea,” she said. “But creating fake, hero worship ultimately undermines HHS’s credibility.” Kennedy isn’t the only one in the administration taking the approach. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz has posted crime documentary-style videos cruising through California, pointing out buildings he alleges house fraudulent businesses. Asked for more information about the claims the administrator made, a CMS spokesperson referred STAT to the posts as statements for the agency. Other cabinet secretaries have also expanded their profiles on social media and elsewhere online, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who posted his workouts online, and Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, the star of an international, multimillion-dollar ad campaign. And the president himself has posted shocking videos created with new video generation technology. Kennedy is far from the first political figure to court internet culture in search of political power. Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris’s campaign tried to latch onto the internet buzz around Charli xcx’s 2024 album “Brat” (“kamala IS brat,” the artist said). Before that, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign flooded Twitter in what was then a novel strategy to connect with younger voters. “RFK Jr. built his political movement largely, not through some sort of grassroots approach,’’ said Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, but by “relying on social media as a means to communicate, connecting with health influencers, and then attempting to win the Democratic nomination before deciding he was better off showing his lot in Trump.” However, the Trump administration’s use of AI tools, at times, can spread brazenly false information. Moynihan pointed to a video Trump posted of himself dropping feces from a plane on protesters. The White House notably altered a photo of an activist arrested following a church protest in Minneapolis to make it appear as though she was crying. “There, you start to go to different places where AI is used to deceive people,” Moynihan said. There’s already been some issue with AI tools the government has relied on churning out false information: HHS added a button on its realfood.gov site that directs users to ask Grok — the generative chatbot that’s part of the social media platform X — about the new food pyramid. When STAT tested the tool, reporters found that it occasionally contradicted the government’s own advice on nutrition. The posts risk crossing other ethical boundaries too, experts said. Under the Hatch Act, official government social media accounts and other communications should remain politically neutral. That is, at least, the idea. During the government shutdown last year, the White House used official departmental web pages and emails to staff to pin the shutdown on Democrats, including by suggesting an out-of-office message for HHS employees directly calling out Senate Democrats. At least one group filed a Hatch Act complaint against HHS for the out-of-office messages. A White House spokesperson at the time dismissed the concerns, saying the administration was “simply sharing the truth with the American people.”