MAHA's Struggle with Identity: Corporate Connections Versus Community Origins

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MAHA's Struggle with Identity: Corporate Connections Versus Community Origins

Bitget-RWA2025/11/23 11:24

By:Bitget-RWA

- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement faces internal fractures as corporate partnerships and policy shifts alienate grassroots supporters. - Critics accuse the administration of abandoning anti-vaccine roots through $500M funding cuts and collaborations with biotech firms like Eli Lilly . - Former allies condemn MAHA's "identity crisis," while 67% public support persists despite warnings about coalition dilution from experts. - Kennedy defends pragmatic alliances as necessary for governance, but faces pr

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) initiative, which once brought together anti-vaccine proponents and environmentalists, is now experiencing internal divisions due to conflicting goals and involvement with corporations. Grassroots members claim the leadership has abandoned its original mission, while Kennedy and his supporters argue that adapting to the realities of leadership is necessary to broaden the movement’s impact.

This discord became especially apparent this week as Kennedy was criticized by former supporters and dismissed staff. Gray Delany, who was removed from his position at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in August, expressed on a podcast, "

MAHA is not MAHA anymore

... what I've heard of what's happening today is not the MAHA that we signed up for." The backlash follows a high-profile Washington event where biotech firms like

CRISPR Therapeutics

and

Regeneron

, along with AI startups, occupied the stage alongside federal health officials.

Critics question whether pharmaceuticals and tech devices could truly

"make America healthy again."

MAHA's Struggle with Identity: Corporate Connections Versus Community Origins image 0

Kennedy, who has long expressed doubts about vaccines, has taken decisive action to reduce immunization initiatives, including cutting $500 million from vaccine research and restructuring the federal vaccine advisory board. His administration also

directed the CDC to revise its website

to question the established scientific agreement that vaccines are not linked to autism. Still, many within the "health freedom" community believe these steps do not go far enough.

Some demand punitive actions against pandemic-era vaccine and mask mandate profiteers

, while others push for the removal of mRNA vaccines from the market-despite their role in saving millions of lives.

The administration's balancing act has drawn further scrutiny.

At an Oval Office meeting, Kennedy praised a deal

with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to reduce weight-loss medication costs, despite earlier skepticism about pharmaceutical solutions to public health crises. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of Medicare and Medicaid,

defended the approach as a pragmatic application

of Trump's "negotiation playbook." Meanwhile, Kennedy's team has faced accusations of cozying up to corporations, with critics citing

Steak 'n Shake's MAHA-aligned promotion

of beef-tallow fries as emblematic of a movement diluting its original message.

Kennedy has sought to quell dissent, defending figures like White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and adviser Stefanie Spear against conspiracy theories suggesting they are undermining his agenda. "

Let's build our coalition instead of splintering it

," he wrote on X, emphasizing unity. His efforts to bridge divides were bolstered by

the recent appointment of Calley Means

, a senior HHS adviser, to a permanent role overseeing food and nutrition policy-a move intended to align MAHA with broader Trump administration priorities.

Public support for MAHA remains robust, with two-thirds of Americans endorsing the initiative in a June Ipsos poll.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon called the movement's growth

"a sign of its success," noting its commitment to "transparency, accountability, and measurable results." Yet public health experts caution that broadening the coalition risks alienating its core base.

Boston University's Matt Motta observed

, "The bigger your tent is, the harder it can be to make everyone happy."

As MAHA navigates its identity crisis, Kennedy's ability to reconcile idealism with political pragmatism will determine whether the movement remains a force for change-or splinters into irrelevance.

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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