JD Vance claims ‘weird childhood diseases’ are impacting Americans and echoes RFK Jr’s health theories

Republican vice presidential hopeful JD Vance echoed some of Robert F Kennedy Jr’s theories on health during a campaign rally on Tuesday in Michigan.

Kennedy, a former Democratic and Independent presidential candidate who has endorsed former President Donald Trump, is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who has pushed debunked public health theories. The 70-year-old was still on the ballot in the swing state even after attempting to get himself removed after dropping out.

In Detroit on Tuesday, Vance spoke about clean air and water and claimed that the US uses more antidepressants than other nations. He also mentioned Americans’ struggle with obesity and claimed that “weird childhood diseases” were making a comeback after having been off the scene for decades.

“Does that suggest that we’re putting too much weird stuff in our water? Or too much weird stuff in our food supply?” Vance asked his audience in Michigan, according to The New York Times.

Trump’s running mate went on to praise Kennedy and his “Make America Healthy Again” slogan.

A Vance spokesperson told the paper that the Ohio senator “worries a great deal about the impact processed foods are having on all Americans, including rising rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.”

The vice presidential nominee is also concerned about “the impacts of microplastics and other contaminants in our water,” the spokesperson added.

Kennedy pushed similar ideas during his run for the White House, such as arguing that federal health agencies should be working harder to take aim at chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

He has also often slammed the pharmaceutical industry and regulating agencies and he has shared his worries about chemicals in food, worries which