In Donald Trump’s first post-election network interview on ‘Meet the Press With Kristen Welker’, he said Robert F Kennedy Jr, his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, will investigate the so-called ‘link’ between vaccines and autism. “Somebody has to find out,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s vaccines. Maybe it’s chlorine in the water, right?” Only scientists already have – the claim has been discredited by dozens of studies. Yet this pseudoscientific rhetoric mirrors a growing sentiment across the wellness industry, where Gwyneth Paltrow promotes raw milk and barefoot influencers point out “seed oils” in supermarkets. After years of warning us about the “hidden toxins” in our food, popular wellness influencers like Vani Hari are now openly backing Kennedy’s plan to “make America healthy again”. So, will MAHA further merge the worlds of wellness and far-right politics?

When Hari posted about MAHA, she positioned it as a bipartisan plan. “No matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree, it’s time to Make America Healthy Again,” she said. But what constitutes as “healthy” has always been political. Since his win, Trump has already been posting blatantly fatphobic posts on Twitter. “A lot of fascist movements share a concern with both nature and the purity of the body,” says Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, a reader and deputy head at City St George’s, University of London. “This manifests in clean eating practices and physical fitness.” Admittedly, there already seems to be plenty of overlap in the gym world: people have been unfollowing fitness influencer Daisy Keech after discovering she follows Trump on Instagram, and Kennedy himself has previously gone viral for his weightlifting clips.

A lot of fascist movements share a concern with both nature and the purity of the body. This manifests in clean eating practices and physical fitness – Dr Stephanie Alice Baker

The initial murmurs of the vague MAHA ‘plan’ appear positive (at first): combatting the chronic disease epidemic, promoting regenerative agriculture, restoring natural ecosystems, reducing corporate influence in government (especially in its public health and environmental agencies), and removing chemicals and toxins from the country’s food, water, and air. From targeting “seed oils”, food dyes, and “ultra-processed foods” to reviewing advertising by pharmaceutical companies, there are public health experts stand behind that stand behind some of Kennedy’s beliefs. Not all of it is dangerous – which makes navigating it more confusing. Especially once loud and proud supporters of MAHA online, like Alex Clark, start making false claims like that it’s “never medically necessary to save the life of the mother” with an abortion.

Dr Baker says that part of what makes MAHA policies so appealing to health and wellness enthusiasts in the US is that he does appeal to genuine concerns: there is less regulation around food additives and dietary supplements in the US compared to other Western countries. “This enables him to propagate more harmful advice,” she says. “These issues are complex, and these fears emerge from people's lived experience or a kernel of truth.” Also, overall, trust in scientists and medical experts has eroded since the pandemic. Social scientist David Voas also points to this mash-up of liberal or progressive thinking (like being opposed to big pharma) with far-right conspiracy theories. “There would be a number of people on his side when talking about ultra-processed foods because that’s been a mainstream concern of nutritionists for recent years,” he says. 

Under the surface of MAHA, however, are years of Kennedy promoting not only unscientific but dangerous ideas – many of which were fringe until recently. He loves raw milk, opposes water fluoridation, has questioned puberty blockers in the past, and believes Wi-Fi causes cancer and a “leaky brain”, antidepressants are linked to school shootings, HIV may not cause AIDS, and chemicals in the water supply can turn children transgender. He promotes the incorrect idea that the HPV vaccine increases the risk of cervical cancer. Despite Kennedy’s background spreading conspiracy theories, he already has a concerningly broad appeal. Eviane Leidig, author of The Women of the Far Right, says MAHA is shattering preexisting ideas of how people with a certain ideological leaning (like previously liberal women) might fit into Trumpism. 

We can’t underestimate the power in Kenndy’s family name: Voas says there’s a perceived ‘automatic credibility’ that comes from the Kennedy family being icons of the American progressive movement. While other members of the Kennedy family denounce his decision to endorse Trump, the New Age author Charles Eisenstein, who described himself as Kennedy’s “campaign philosopher”, believes his leadership could provide a political realignment that defies the traditional two-party system. We’re already seeing this play out in the wellness industry, where MAHA rhetoric is already commonly discussed amongst left-leaning but ‘crunchy’ women who may be unaware of the connection. We’re also seeing some ideas spill over into the fashion industry – model Gabriella Bechtel posted a recipe using raw milk earlier this month. As Kennedy hosts Goop-like summits (and talks of ‘wellness farms’ for people taking antidepressants or ADHD medication), MAHA has become a perfect storm of rampant wellness-infused individualism, a distrust in America’s food and health systems, and the anti-intellectualism of the “new right”. 

Infusing Trumpism with ‘woo woo’ ideas, says Leidig, has been intentional. “I’ve seen the rise in women influencers who, at one point, may have been focused on providing political commentary, shifting their focus towards lifestyle content,” she says. “It’s a very strategic effort to promote their ideology in ways that are seen to be quite normal and relatable.” Only – despite MAHA painting a picture of organic farms and taking down ‘big food’ – the Trump administration previously ended more than 100 environmental policies, including bans on toxic chemicals known to pose serious health threats, installed industry lobbyists in high-ranking positions, and even approved more than 100 products with pesticides that are banned in other countries, according to an analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group. There are also already reports that Trump’s economic advisors are in favour of cutting food stamps.

I’ve seen the rise in women influencers who, at one point, may have been focused on providing political commentary, shifting their focus towards lifestyle content. It’s a very strategic effort to promote their ideology in ways that are seen to be quite normal and relatable – Eviane Leidig

The MAHA promise – organic food and pesticides, alternative medicine, and removing pharmaceutical hold – is an easy trap to fall into. After all, who doesn’t like the sound of fresh food and clean air? But it’s also lacking in nuance (seed oils can, in fact, be part of a healthy diet), is full of incorrect scientific information, particularly around vaccinations, and takes an extremely individualistic approach to health, positioning those who sit outside of what Kennedy and Trump consider “healthy” as the enemy. Still, it’s also understandable for people to question the likes of big pharma companies. “One of the features of the modern age is that we seem less and less trusting of authority, and, in some ways, this is understandable,” says Voas. “There’s been a general reaction amongst electorates around the world against incumbents, partly because they’re associated with failed policies and growth of inequality and very obvious unwellness in many respects has led people to believe that whatever the elite are doing simply hasn’t worked out very well.” 

America as a country may be sick down to its core – filled with corruption, wealth inequality and exploitation – but the likes of Kennedy are not here to save it. Instead, MAHA and its infusion with wellness culture today is a direct pipeline to far-right ideas. “During the pandemic, people started reading things online that brought them into the anti-vax crowd, but then you get a strange alignment between one form of anti-elite thinking and other forms,” says Voas. “Then it starts to connect with anti-immigration, anti-globalisation and other alt-right movements.” This strange phenomenon presents ideas around “health” as a package deal with conservative viewpoints. As long as people are hyper-focused on whether pasteurised milk will “enter your cells” or if vegetable oils will kill them, they aren‘t pushing for scalable big-government solutions for some of the most pressing health issues in the country – say, fighting food insecurity and health inequality.