📄 Extracted Text (11,851 words)
[00:00:00] Heat.
[00:00:18] Heat.
[00:02:55] Heat. Heat.
[00:03:46] >> [music]
[00:03:53] [music]
[00:04:14] >> Wow.
[00:04:26] Heat. Heat.
[00:04:58] Oh,
[00:05:00] hey.
[00:05:07] [music]
[00:05:13] [music]
[00:05:16] Heat. [music]
[00:05:35] Heat.
[00:05:40] Heat. Heat.
[00:06:16] Oh,
[00:06:19] hey.
[00:06:21] Oh,
[00:06:24] hey. [music]
[00:07:55] Why you hungry?
[00:08:07] [music]
[00:08:25] Wow.
[00:08:51] Heat. Heat.
[00:09:09] Oh,
[00:09:11] hey.
[00:09:46] Woo!
[00:09:51] Heat. Heat.
[00:10:27] Oh,
[00:10:30] hey. [music]
[00:10:32] Oh,
[00:10:35] hey.
[00:10:47] Why you
[00:11:19] >> [music]
[00:11:23] >> be
[00:11:25] care.
[00:11:38] Turn
[00:11:47] baby
[00:11:50] turn
[00:11:58] do crazy
[00:12:01] turn Heat. Heat. N.
[00:12:12] Heat. Heat. N.
[00:12:22] Heat. Heat. N.
[00:12:32] Heat. Heat. N.
[00:12:42] Heat. Heat. N.
[00:13:38] Hey,
[00:13:44] hey, hey.
[00:13:59] Hey,
[00:14:11] hey, hey.
[00:14:20] >> [music]
[00:14:33] >> Hey,
[00:14:39] hey,
[00:14:43] Hey,
[00:15:00] hey,
[00:15:04] hey.
[00:15:34] Hey.
[00:15:37] Hey.
[00:17:46] Heat. Heat.
[00:18:20] And on behalf of our chapter and Turning
[00:18:22] Point, it is my honor to welcome you all
[00:18:25] here tonight and thank you. We're
[00:18:27] incredibly excited to host a
[00:18:30] conversation that, let's be honest,
[00:18:33] isn't always easy to have on a college
[00:18:36] campus, but absolutely essential to one.
[00:18:39] Events like this reflect why Turning
[00:18:42] Point exists, to protect the open
[00:18:44] exchange of ideas at a time when far too
[00:18:47] many students feel pressured to stay
[00:18:50] quiet. And that mission is grounded in
[00:18:52] what Charlie Kirk built this
[00:18:54] organization on. Courage, open debate,
[00:18:57] and the belief that freedom of speech is
[00:19:00] the foundation of a real education.
[00:19:03] Charlie understood that the moment a
[00:19:06] campus stops being a place for
[00:19:08] discussion, it stops being a university.
[00:19:12] He believed in creating spaces where
[00:19:14] students can ask real questions, hear
[00:19:18] real arguments, and form their own views
[00:19:21] without fear or permission. And that is
[00:19:23] exactly the purpose of tonight's event.
[00:19:26] Whether you agree with Secretary Kennedy
[00:19:29] or not, whether you disagree with him
[00:19:31] entirely, tonight is about engaging
[00:19:34] directly with ideas, not hiding from
[00:19:37] them. Before we begin, I want to share
[00:19:39] an important message from the university
[00:19:42] which speaks directly to why we're here.
[00:19:45] The George Washington University affirms
[00:19:48] its commitment to free speech and free
[00:19:50] inquiry. All views, beliefs, and
[00:19:53] perspectives deserve to be articulated
[00:19:55] and heard free from interference. In
[00:19:58] accordance with this commitment, the
[00:20:00] university reserves the right to address
[00:20:02] any attendee that disrupts this
[00:20:03] evening's presentation up to and
[00:20:06] including removal from this program and
[00:20:08] referral to an appropriate system of
[00:20:10] accountability. So everyone, let's just
[00:20:12] keep it respectful. This policy doesn't
[00:20:15] just protect our event, it protects the
[00:20:17] principle we're all here to defend, the
[00:20:20] freedom to listen, to question, and to
[00:20:22] think for ourselves. With that being
[00:20:25] said, thank you all again for being
[00:20:27] here. Thank you for standing up for free
[00:20:29] speech here in GW and in America. And
[00:20:32] now, please join me in welcoming Pastor
[00:20:35] Jordan Vamont from the Christ DC Church
[00:20:38] and Dr. Ben Graham from the White House
[00:20:40] Office of Faith.
[00:20:50] All right. Well, it's great to be here
[00:20:51] tonight and I am delighted to see each
[00:20:53] and every one of you. Uh I'm excited.
[00:20:56] I'm a father of four. They are ages 15
[00:20:59] to 26. All four of them have their own
[00:21:02] businesses and they are doing amazing
[00:21:04] things because they live in this great
[00:21:06] nation. By the way, we have our
[00:21:08] problems, but we do live in the greatest
[00:21:10] nation. And I'm looking at a room full
[00:21:12] of generation changers that are going to
[00:21:14] change the perspective of America. And
[00:21:16] our future is bright because of you.
[00:21:19] We're so thankful for Turning Point and
[00:21:20] for Charlie and the the way he stood for
[00:21:23] faith. And I believe it's so important.
[00:21:27] And I want to say this to you. If you're
[00:21:29] going to really have a successful life,
[00:21:31] you must ground yourself in faith. You
[00:21:33] need to get in God's word and study it.
[00:21:35] You need to understand, listen, that uh
[00:21:38] to truly have a successful life, you
[00:21:40] need to put God first in everything you
[00:21:42] do. We're delighted to be here tonight.
[00:21:44] I'm glad you're here. And listen, I
[00:21:46] don't know about you, but I believe
[00:21:48] tonight that all of you are here for
[00:21:51] such a time as this. You've got a
[00:21:54] mission that God has for you. And I hope
[00:21:56] you'll find that. I hope that you'll do
[00:21:58] all you can to make a difference with
[00:22:00] the life that God has given you. And I'm
[00:22:02] looking forward to hearing from RF
[00:22:04] Kennedy Jr. tonight. We're going to have
[00:22:06] a great time and glad to have Pastor
[00:22:08] Jordan here who's going to share a word
[00:22:11] of prayer and talk to us a little bit.
[00:22:13] Let me just say guys, thank you for what
[00:22:14] you're doing. Let's make a difference.
[00:22:24] Thank you, Ben. So good to be here.
[00:22:25] Let's pray.
[00:22:27] Heavenly Father, you are great and holy.
[00:22:30] You've determined our appointed times,
[00:22:33] and in you we live and move and have our
[00:22:35] being. You know everything from secret
[00:22:38] thoughts and desires to the movements of
[00:22:40] men, women, and nations. You bring low
[00:22:42] the proud and lift up the humble. You
[00:22:45] turn the hearts of kings and set the way
[00:22:47] of the young and old, the powerful and
[00:22:49] the weak. You are all powerful and your
[00:22:52] son rules at your right hand, high above
[00:22:54] the heavens, crowned with all glory and
[00:22:57] honor, having a name that is above every
[00:22:59] name, a name at which every knee will
[00:23:01] bow in heaven and on earth. Your son has
[00:23:04] been vindicated in his resurrection,
[00:23:06] conquering death and evil. Deliver us
[00:23:08] now from evil and from every lie and
[00:23:10] falsehood that contradicts the truth of
[00:23:12] your word. You are the great restgiver.
[00:23:15] Remove every distraction and foolish
[00:23:17] thought that interferes with seeing you
[00:23:19] as the ultimate source of truth and
[00:23:21] goodness. Take away restless hearts. And
[00:23:23] in echoing the words of St. Augustine,
[00:23:26] every heart here would find its rest in
[00:23:28] you. You are the great peacemaker and
[00:23:30] unifier, uniting all things in Christ,
[00:23:33] in heaven and on earth. Bring peace and
[00:23:35] resolution to ungodly conflict and
[00:23:37] division in our land. Give repentance
[00:23:39] from greed, pride, vanity, and animosity
[00:23:42] toward fellow image bearsers that all
[00:23:44] here may in Christ find peace, true
[00:23:46] friendship, and spiritual harmony.
[00:23:48] You're the author and perfector of
[00:23:49] faith. May all those here come to know
[00:23:52] the gospel of your salvation. Plant and
[00:23:54] cultivate the seeds of faith in the
[00:23:57] hearts and minds of those here that do
[00:23:58] not know you. nourish, mature, and steal
[00:24:01] up a great faith in those who call you,
[00:24:02] Lord, but are battered and assaulted by
[00:24:04] the enemies of the cross and the gospel.
[00:24:06] Strengthen and embolden those that
[00:24:08] minister and work in your name and under
[00:24:09] your authority, whether in college
[00:24:11] classrooms, corporations, courtrooms,
[00:24:13] city halls, legislative chambers, or
[00:24:14] executive offices. May they be unashamed
[00:24:17] to thunder your word and share the
[00:24:19] gospel in times of unbelief. Bless all
[00:24:22] those that work with Turning Point USA,
[00:24:24] following Charlie as he sought to follow
[00:24:26] Christ. May Charlie's good legacy carry
[00:24:29] on. Give courage, strength, and success
[00:24:31] to every good work in your name. You're
[00:24:33] the highest king, the true giver, and
[00:24:35] source of liberty in Christ. A liberty
[00:24:37] that relieves all burdens, brings order
[00:24:39] from chaos, infuses enduring strength
[00:24:41] and resolve, and gives everlasting hope
[00:24:42] in a future. May our leaders promote
[00:24:45] such liberty. We pray your blessing on
[00:24:47] the president, Secretary Kennedy, those
[00:24:49] in the Trump administration, our
[00:24:51] legislators, judges, and all those in
[00:24:53] public service. Give them wisdom,
[00:24:54] resolve, and courage to do all that you
[00:24:57] have commanded them. Give them ears to
[00:24:58] hear, eyes to see, righteous prayers to
[00:25:01] invoke your name, obedient hearts
[00:25:03] attentive to your word and commands that
[00:25:05] they would see themselves as under your
[00:25:07] authority and placed in authority in our
[00:25:09] land to promote the good and punish evil
[00:25:11] for good and of your kingdom and people.
[00:25:14] You are the source of true wisdom in
[00:25:16] Christ, the Messiah and the great king.
[00:25:18] May we proclaim and point to you in
[00:25:19] everything, whether in policies or
[00:25:21] programs, personality or priorities,
[00:25:23] privilege or position. May we see all
[00:25:25] things pointed to you. And may we point
[00:25:26] to you in everything. Your son is the
[00:25:28] truth and the life. May all those here
[00:25:31] seeking truth come to name and to know
[00:25:33] your son as the ground, the source, and
[00:25:35] the embodiment of all truth. Your
[00:25:37] righteousness, this is a broken and
[00:25:39] fallen world. There is an undeniable
[00:25:41] sense that the things in this world are
[00:25:42] not right. But you are the ultimate
[00:25:44] right giver and the one who is making
[00:25:46] all things right. by the outworking of
[00:25:48] your spirit. Help all who bear the name
[00:25:49] of Christ to be your agents and
[00:25:51] ambassadors of righteousness to
[00:25:53] faithfully teach your commandments and
[00:25:55] proclaim your word. Lord, bring the
[00:25:57] imprint of heaven to our land. May your
[00:26:00] will be done here in this place, in this
[00:26:02] nation, and on all the earth as it is in
[00:26:04] heaven. Thank you for your goodness and
[00:26:06] grace. Thank you for this time,
[00:26:07] opportunity, and place. Thank you for
[00:26:09] all those who have worked to make
[00:26:10] tonight happen. Be with us now in our
[00:26:12] thoughts, words, interactions, and
[00:26:14] prayers. In the name of the Father, Son,
[00:26:16] and the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
[00:26:18] >> Amen.
[00:26:28] >> Now, I'd like to
[00:26:30] invite a very special person to the
[00:26:32] stage, ladies and gentlemen, the
[00:26:34] chairman of the GW College Republicans,
[00:26:36] Kieran Laffy.
[00:26:53] Well, that was quite the introduction.
[00:26:55] Wow, look at this crowd. This is crazy.
[00:26:57] Um, look, good evening everyone. My name
[00:26:59] is Kieran Laffy, chairman of the GW
[00:27:01] College Republicans, and I want to
[00:27:03] personally thank each and every one of
[00:27:05] you for coming out tonight. It means the
[00:27:06] world to us.
[00:27:08] I want you to first take a moment and
[00:27:10] look around this room. What you see is
[00:27:12] something truly special. A crowd this
[00:27:15] large, this young, this energized. This
[00:27:18] was unimaginable just a short time ago,
[00:27:21] especially on this campus. Yet here we
[00:27:25] are proving that the tide in this
[00:27:27] country is turning. Our culture is
[00:27:30] shifting and young Americans are finally
[00:27:32] beginning to stand up again.
[00:27:35] And look, I have to say it. Just look at
[00:27:37] that protest outside. Look, we're GW
[00:27:39] students. If you see a crowd like that
[00:27:41] protesting an event outside a building,
[00:27:43] you know what's taking place in that
[00:27:44] building is going to be a great time.
[00:27:45] So, I want to welcome you to a great
[00:27:47] time.
[00:27:50] [applause]
[00:27:55] That brings me to why we're here.
[00:27:57] Because tonight's not about me or a club
[00:27:59] or anything else. It's about a moment. A
[00:28:02] moment bigger than any of us. As
[00:28:04] chairman of largest college Republican
[00:28:06] chapter in the nation, I feel that
[00:28:08] responsibility every day. We're standing
[00:28:11] at a crossroads for our country. A
[00:28:13] moment where young Americans must step
[00:28:16] up while others step back. A moment
[00:28:19] where standing for free speech, free
[00:28:21] thought, and honest dialogue is no
[00:28:24] longer optional but essential.
[00:28:27] That idea brings me to a quote I think
[00:28:30] everyone should remember. The only thing
[00:28:32] necessary for the triumph of evil is for
[00:28:35] good men to do nothing. That quote is
[00:28:38] not just a lesson from the past. It's a
[00:28:40] warning to the present. It's a call for
[00:28:43] courage, a call for action, and a call
[00:28:45] to do what is right, especially when it
[00:28:47] is not popular.
[00:28:50] Because let's be honest, for years, we
[00:28:52] watch students whisper instead of speak.
[00:28:54] We watch people hide instead of step
[00:28:57] forward. We watched too many conform
[00:29:00] instead of think. But that is changing.
[00:29:03] Something is shifting on campuses.
[00:29:05] Something is shifting in this country.
[00:29:07] People want truth again. They want
[00:29:09] backbone again. And they want leaders
[00:29:11] who do not crumble when things get hard.
[00:29:21] All that brings us to tonight because we
[00:29:23] are welcoming a man who has lived by
[00:29:25] that courage. A man who has refused to
[00:29:28] fall in line. A man who stood up to the
[00:29:30] entire Democratic establishment even as
[00:29:33] a Kennedy. A man who proved that
[00:29:35] principle is more important than
[00:29:36] pressure. A man who proved that doing
[00:29:40] what is right, even when it is hard is
[00:29:44] the right thing to do. He has spent his
[00:29:46] life fighting for a healthier America.
[00:29:48] And long before Washington dared to say
[00:29:50] it, he warned us of that health crisis
[00:29:53] sweeping our nation. And look, six in 10
[00:29:55] Americans have at least one chronic
[00:29:56] disease. One in four children suffer
[00:29:58] from allergies and 40% of Americans are
[00:30:01] diabetic or pre-diabetic.
[00:30:03] Those numbers are not Democrat or
[00:30:05] Republican numbers. Those are American
[00:30:06] numbers. For years, almost nobody in
[00:30:09] power had the courage to speak up about
[00:30:11] this.
[00:30:13] But someone did, even when it was
[00:30:15] unpopular, even when it was hard, and
[00:30:18] even when he had to stand alone. Today
[00:30:20] he is showing true leadership by putting
[00:30:23] politics aside, working with President
[00:30:26] Trump to make America healthy again.
[00:30:27] That is courage. That is patriotism. And
[00:30:29] that is exactly what this cultural
[00:30:31] moment needs.
[00:30:34] And look at this room. Look at this
[00:30:36] generation. Look at what is happening
[00:30:38] right here tonight. We are proving that
[00:30:40] courage still exists, that truth still
[00:30:43] matters, that young Americans are rising
[00:30:45] again.
[00:30:47] And that quote we opened with is not a
[00:30:49] warning, but a mission. A mission to
[00:30:52] act, a mission to stand up, a mission to
[00:30:55] defend the founding ideals that built
[00:30:58] this country. Tonight's a milestone for
[00:31:00] GW, a milestone for the College
[00:31:02] Republicans and Turning Point USA, and
[00:31:05] is my humble honor to welcome you all
[00:31:06] tonight. Thank you and God bless.
[00:31:18] Well,
[00:31:19] let's give another round of applause for
[00:31:21] Kieran, ladies and gentlemen. That was
[00:31:22] great.
[00:31:30] Now, before we invite the person that
[00:31:34] you are all truly here to see, I would
[00:31:36] like to invite one more special guest,
[00:31:39] my co-odderator, Paulie, ladies and
[00:31:41] gentlemen.
[00:31:58] Now,
[00:32:00] for the person you're really here to
[00:32:02] see, ladies and gentlemen, I present to
[00:32:04] you Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
[00:32:31] How you doing tonight, Mr. Secretary?
[00:32:35] >> I'm good. [laughter]
[00:32:40] Well, really happy you're here. Um, and
[00:32:43] this is obviously a very exciting
[00:32:45] opportunity. Um, so you ready? You ready
[00:32:49] for the questions?
[00:32:51] All right, here we go. Well,
[00:32:54] not to not to start off with something
[00:32:57] too too insane, but in in in just the
[00:33:00] past year alone, we've unfortunately
[00:33:02] seen a witnessing alarm of uh rise in
[00:33:07] political violence, from the
[00:33:08] assassination of Charlie Kirk to the
[00:33:11] several attempts on President Trump's
[00:33:13] life and even the killing of a former
[00:33:15] Minnesota House Speaker. Even on college
[00:33:18] campuses today, students face growing
[00:33:20] hostility, imitation, sorry,
[00:33:23] intimidation, and in some cases, threats
[00:33:25] of violence simply just for expressing
[00:33:28] their beliefs the same way Charlie Kirk
[00:33:30] did. How did how did someone like
[00:33:33] Charlie Kirk um effect have an effect on
[00:33:36] you in the passing of him?
[00:33:40] >> Well,
[00:33:41] um
[00:33:43] I mean his passing impacted me a lot. He
[00:33:46] was uh I had become close with Charlie
[00:33:50] over the past over the three previous
[00:33:52] years and I didn't agree with him on a
[00:33:55] lot of issues particularly when I first
[00:33:57] met him. We we grew closer and closer
[00:34:00] over time. Um but we were both advocates
[00:34:04] of the first amendment and free speech
[00:34:08] absolutists. And you know, you had to
[00:34:12] respect Charlie because he believed in
[00:34:14] certain things. He was able to defend
[00:34:18] them.
[00:34:19] Most of all, he believed in open
[00:34:21] dialogue and free speech. And you talk
[00:34:23] about the violence. I think ultimately
[00:34:27] there's a lot of reasons for violence in
[00:34:29] our society today.
[00:34:31] But I think that the thing that we can
[00:34:33] do something about is to open up more
[00:34:37] dialogue. People become violent when
[00:34:40] they cannot express themselves anymore.
[00:34:43] and they can't express themselves
[00:34:44] because they're censored, because
[00:34:46] they're silenced, or because the means
[00:34:49] of expression the media is controlled by
[00:34:53] is controlled and will not venture
[00:34:56] outside of certain Overton windows so
[00:34:58] that certain subjects become taboo and
[00:35:02] people are cancelled,
[00:35:04] people are silenced and that, you know,
[00:35:06] when you can't express yourself, that's
[00:35:09] when you go to violence. I think what
[00:35:12] Charlie was doing and that's why I
[00:35:14] believed so uh strongly and felt so
[00:35:17] aligned with him is that he was trying
[00:35:19] to open up that dialogue and he always
[00:35:22] wanted to speak with the people who
[00:35:23] disagreed with the most and I think that
[00:35:26] that was a really admirable virtue of
[00:35:28] his that he had the confidence to to
[00:35:33] meet people on the on the battlefield of
[00:35:36] ideas and you know the whole the whole
[00:35:40] magic of democracy Democracy is a very
[00:35:42] sloppy system. It's filled with
[00:35:45] inefficiencies.
[00:35:47] And the one advantage that it has over a
[00:35:49] dictator, dictatorships are much more
[00:35:51] efficient. You only have one person make
[00:35:52] decisions. And so, and you can move very
[00:35:55] very quickly and there's no process. Um,
[00:35:59] and so they have an advantage. But the
[00:36:03] advantage that democracies have is that
[00:36:06] they that they are that they're the
[00:36:09] policies that are enacted in democracy
[00:36:12] are policies that have triumphed in the
[00:36:15] marketplace of ideas
[00:36:17] and that's what gives us our advantage.
[00:36:19] When we shut down debate, when we shut
[00:36:23] down conversation,
[00:36:26] open the free flow of information is the
[00:36:29] is the water, it's the soil, it's the
[00:36:32] oxygen, and it's the sunlight for
[00:36:34] democracy. And when you shut it down,
[00:36:37] democracy will wither and die.
[00:36:40] I think Charlie Kirk was able to really
[00:36:43] capture the youth spirit, I mean, like
[00:36:46] no one else can. And I think you tap
[00:36:48] into that as much as anybody anybody
[00:36:51] else. I mean, it's incredible. What do
[00:36:53] you think about the movement, the Maha
[00:36:55] Make America Healthy Again movement
[00:36:57] resonates with the young crowd so well
[00:36:59] in a way that Charlie Kirk was able to
[00:37:01] do just the same as you were?
[00:37:04] >> Yeah. I think that young people see, you
[00:37:08] know, it's it's it's strange because
[00:37:10] people my age know what a healthy
[00:37:12] person's supposed to look like and they
[00:37:15] kind of um,
[00:37:18] you know, it's like the frog in the
[00:37:19] boiling water. You leave the frog and
[00:37:21] you you you slowly bring the water to
[00:37:23] the boil and the frog will just sit
[00:37:25] there and simmer. With kids are growing
[00:37:28] up today and they know something is
[00:37:30] wrong. And when I think when I started
[00:37:34] talking about it, when Charlie started
[00:37:36] talking about it, a lot of kids your age
[00:37:39] said, "Yeah, this is not right." And
[00:37:42] I've sensed that there was something
[00:37:44] wrong for a long time. But he's actually
[00:37:47] putting his finger on it. And one of you
[00:37:49] mentioned before that, you know, 40% of
[00:37:52] Americans, 38% of teens are now diabetic
[00:37:55] or pre-diabetic.
[00:37:57] And when I was a kid,
[00:38:00] a typical pediatrician would say one see
[00:38:03] one case of juvenile diabetes over a 40
[00:38:06] or 50 year career. And I never knew
[00:38:09] anybody with diabetes. I never heard
[00:38:11] anybody with diabetes. And I had 11
[00:38:14] siblings. I had 7 cousins. And all the
[00:38:18] schools I went to, I never knew anybody
[00:38:21] with diabetes.
[00:38:23] And today that same pediatrician,
[00:38:27] one out of every three kids who comes to
[00:38:29] his office door is diabetic or
[00:38:31] pre-diabetic.
[00:38:32] When I in 1970,
[00:38:36] the they did the biggest epidemiological
[00:38:38] study in the history of the world. And
[00:38:41] they were looking for kids with autism
[00:38:44] in the state of Wisconsin. And they knew
[00:38:45] what autism looked like. It had been
[00:38:48] around a while since the 1930s.
[00:38:52] and they found and it they looked at
[00:38:55] every child between a eight-year-old
[00:38:58] child in Wisconsin. It was 900,000 kids.
[00:39:02] They looked at and they found that the
[00:39:05] incidence of autism
[00:39:07] was.7 per 10,000. So less than one in
[00:39:12] 10,000.
[00:39:14] Today the incident is one in every 31
[00:39:16] kids, one in every 20 boys. And it's
[00:39:20] actually a lot worse than that because
[00:39:23] some states do a lot better at
[00:39:25] collecting data. And California is the
[00:39:28] best. And in California, the autism rate
[00:39:31] is one in every 19 kids and one in every
[00:39:34] 12.5 boys.
[00:39:36] So, you know, for some reason, the the
[00:39:40] adults of my generation have kind of let
[00:39:42] this happen and have normalized it and
[00:39:45] said, "Oh, there's, you know, no problem
[00:39:47] here." But I think kids your age are
[00:39:51] looking around and saying, "Why am I
[00:39:53] sick? Why do I have chronic disease? Why
[00:39:55] do I have food allergies?" Nobody knew
[00:39:58] what a food allergy was when I was a
[00:39:59] kid. I never knew anybody with a peanut
[00:40:02] allergy.
[00:40:04] And um and they and there's no medical
[00:40:07] literature on it. It wasn't even in the
[00:40:10] medical literature because it was it was
[00:40:13] just unheard of. And all of a sudden,
[00:40:15] beginning around 1989, kids started
[00:40:18] getting allergic to peanuts.
[00:40:21] And [clears throat]
[00:40:22] um now I think it's one in every 13 kids
[00:40:27] has a peanut allergy or a food allergy.
[00:40:30] And so I think people of your
[00:40:32] generation, we're seeing this happen.
[00:40:36] We're seeing that your generation is is
[00:40:38] particularly affected by it. and with
[00:40:40] neurological diseases, autoimmune
[00:40:42] disease, allergic diseases,
[00:40:45] and um and that you know there that
[00:40:49] there there's a different view of what
[00:40:51] could be happening in this country and
[00:40:53] we need to figure out what's causing it
[00:40:55] and eliminate it.
[00:41:00] [applause]
[00:41:06] So last week you held your MAHAS uh
[00:41:10] summit with Vice President Vance and you
[00:41:13] underscored that MAHA is not just a
[00:41:16] wellness initiative but a movement to
[00:41:19] reform how government approaches public
[00:41:22] health and scientific authority. Um, and
[00:41:25] how do you see uh this mission of reform
[00:41:29] connecting uh both with your broader
[00:41:32] goals uh of putting country over party,
[00:41:34] but specifically also like how do you
[00:41:36] see it connecting with people like
[00:41:39] students with the with the younger
[00:41:40] generation?
[00:41:43] >> Well, I I think there's two ways to
[00:41:44] answer that question. One is what are
[00:41:47] our public health objectives? And to me,
[00:41:51] you know, what I want to do as HHS
[00:41:53] secretary is a couple of things. One is
[00:41:57] to have gold standard science. The
[00:42:00] science has been captured by the
[00:42:02] pharmaceutical industry and private
[00:42:04] industry and also by um by regulators
[00:42:10] who don't want to be questioned. And so
[00:42:13] and [clears throat] the the scientific
[00:42:14] journals are compromised because the
[00:42:16] pharmaceutical companies pay pay all
[00:42:19] their expenses and all their profits.
[00:42:21] The the medical schools are compromised
[00:42:24] by payments from the pharmaceutical
[00:42:26] industry and from NIH and all the
[00:42:29] institutions, the AMA, the AAP
[00:42:32] are all now captured agencies. They're
[00:42:36] they're um they are they're promoting
[00:42:40] not public health but they're promoting
[00:42:42] the mercantile interests of
[00:42:44] pharmaceutical companies and and other
[00:42:47] companies within the medical industry
[00:42:50] and and we have a sick care system as a
[00:42:53] result rather than a health care system.
[00:42:56] All of those institutions make money
[00:42:58] from keeping Americans sick. And so
[00:43:02] there's a couple of things that we
[00:43:07] we need to do. We need to have gold
[00:43:10] standard science and we need to make
[00:43:12] sure that the journals are actually
[00:43:14] publishing gold standard science that is
[00:43:18] uh that is uncontaminated by conflicts
[00:43:21] of interest. And then we need to um we
[00:43:26] need to give people choice. Oh, I don't
[00:43:28] think that we should have a nanny state
[00:43:30] approach and that we should tell you you
[00:43:32] shouldn't do, you know, you can't have
[00:43:34] this vape if you want it or you can't
[00:43:37] have a uh whatever you want. We need to
[00:43:41] tell you what the risks are, what the
[00:43:43] benefits are, and then let Americans
[00:43:46] make their own choices. If you make bad
[00:43:48] choices, you may want to you may have to
[00:43:50] pay a little bit more of your share of
[00:43:54] the of the health care costs of our
[00:43:56] country. We need to design a system that
[00:43:59] does what free market capitalism is
[00:44:01] supposed to do, which is to incentivize
[00:44:02] good behavior and punish bad behavior.
[00:44:06] And and that should just be part of our
[00:44:08] system. And that that's always been part
[00:44:10] of our system of democracy and free
[00:44:12] market capitalism. And then we need to
[00:44:14] realign these perverse incentives
[00:44:18] so that people can make money by keeping
[00:44:21] you healthy. That they get paid by
[00:44:24] keeping you healthy. They don't get paid
[00:44:26] by asking for another MRI M MRI or
[00:44:30] another CAT scan or another blood test.
[00:44:33] They get paid if you get better. And in
[00:44:37] that way we can get make it so that
[00:44:39] people do well by doing good rather than
[00:44:44] uh the system that we have now which is
[00:44:46] encourages everybody to keep us all
[00:44:49] sick.
[00:44:52] [applause]
[00:44:56] I say,
[00:44:57] [applause] you know, one other way of
[00:45:01] answering that question is that the
[00:45:04] medical system reflects
[00:45:06] the values of the society as a whole and
[00:45:09] they're intertwined with each other and
[00:45:11] and medicine
[00:45:14] is very conveniently
[00:45:17] a tool of control by totalitarian
[00:45:21] systems.
[00:45:22] And we saw this during CO
[00:45:25] when you know we had a an illness and it
[00:45:30] was used as a crisis to shut down our
[00:45:34] constitutional rights. They shut down
[00:45:36] our, you know, President Biden 37 hours
[00:45:39] after he took the oath of office, his
[00:45:42] White House was twisting Mark
[00:45:44] Zuckerberg's
[00:45:46] arm to censor me and to censor a lot of
[00:45:50] other people. But I was the first one
[00:45:51] that they censored and they removed my
[00:45:53] account from Instagram
[00:45:55] and they um and they then they
[00:45:59] slowwalked all of my other accounts.
[00:46:02] They shadowb pan them. But as soon as
[00:46:03] they figured out that they could get rid
[00:46:07] of freedom of speech, they went after
[00:46:08] all of other our other rights. the the
[00:46:13] founders, John Adams, Madison Adams, put
[00:46:16] the put freedom of speech in the first
[00:46:18] amendment because they knew all of the
[00:46:20] other rights depended on it. A
[00:46:22] government that can silence its
[00:46:24] opponents has license for any kind of
[00:46:27] atrocity. And as soon as they figured
[00:46:29] out that we were going to put up with
[00:46:31] the censorship, they closed all the
[00:46:33] churches. They got rid of freedom of
[00:46:35] worship. They closed all the churches
[00:46:37] for a year in our country. And they kept
[00:46:39] the liquor stores open as you know
[00:46:42] essential businesses. They kept Walmart
[00:46:45] open.
[00:46:48] And then they went after the other right
[00:46:50] in the first amendment which is uh the
[00:46:53] freedom of assembly. They put down
[00:46:55] social distancing regulations. So we
[00:46:58] couldn't assemble. We couldn't get
[00:46:59] together. And then they went after the
[00:47:01] fifth amendment which the the uh they
[00:47:04] closed down three and a half bill
[00:47:06] million businesses with no due process,
[00:47:08] no just compensation.
[00:47:10] They went after the fourth amendment
[00:47:13] prohibition against unwarranted searches
[00:47:15] and seizures by making you show your
[00:47:18] medical records before you could leave
[00:47:19] your home, before you could enter a
[00:47:21] government building, before you could go
[00:47:22] on an airline. They went after the
[00:47:25] seventh amendment right to jury trials.
[00:47:28] The seventh amendment says, "No American
[00:47:30] shall be denied the right of trial
[00:47:32] before a jury of his peers in cases or
[00:47:34] controversies exceeding $25." That's all
[00:47:37] it says. There is no pandemic exception.
[00:47:42] And the the the framers of the
[00:47:44] Constitution knew all about epidemics.
[00:47:46] There were two devastating epidemics
[00:47:48] during the Revolutionary War. And there
[00:47:51] were dozens of epidemics between the end
[00:47:53] of the war and the ratification of the
[00:47:56] constitution. They killed tens of
[00:47:58] thousands of people. Yellow fever,
[00:47:59] malaria, smallpox, etc. So they knew all
[00:48:02] about them. They didn't put an exception
[00:48:04] in the constitution.
[00:48:07] And yet all of a sudden we had, you
[00:48:09] know, 250 years of history of that
[00:48:12] constitution.
[00:48:14] And in one year the entire thing was
[00:48:16] dismantled. They took what they said.
[00:48:18] Anybody who damages you or injures you
[00:48:21] in a in the course of providing a
[00:48:23] counter measure, you can't sue them. No
[00:48:25] matter how negligent they are, no matter
[00:48:28] how reckless they are, no matter how
[00:48:30] wanting they are or malicious, you
[00:48:32] cannot sue them. Oh, they took away they
[00:48:35] wiped out all of the essential rights in
[00:48:37] one year. And that you know we have to
[00:48:40] be wary of in the future that health uh
[00:48:45] crises are not used to attack our
[00:48:48] democracy. Our democracy, our
[00:48:50] constitution was written for hard times.
[00:48:53] It wasn't written for easy times. It was
[00:48:56] written for the times when people want
[00:48:59] to give away their rights in exchange
[00:49:01] for security.
[00:49:03] That's when you need the Constitution to
[00:49:05] protect all of us.
[00:49:08] >> [applause]
[00:49:15] >> It's funny that the Maha movement has
[00:49:17] become so polarizing recently and I I
[00:49:19] truly don't get it because I think you
[00:49:20] are such a figure that all of us a lot
[00:49:22] of us in the crowd and I know everyone
[00:49:23] on stage here looks to you as a figure
[00:49:25] that really pushes young people to just
[00:49:28] better themselves to make themselves
[00:49:29] healthier. How can we bridge this divide
[00:49:32] across the nation, especially in the
[00:49:34] health department, to just push for a
[00:49:35] happier and healthier America?
[00:49:40] >> Well, you know, the answer, I think, is
[00:49:42] that I don't think the movement itself
[00:49:45] is polarizing.
[00:49:46] I mean, I may be seen as a polarizing
[00:49:49] figure, but I don't think the movement
[00:49:51] itself is polarizing. I think we just
[00:49:53] live in a time of polarization.
[00:49:55] And one of the reasons I believe this is
[00:49:58] I've gone to the governor's conference
[00:50:00] and met with both the Republican and
[00:50:02] Democratic governors and met
[00:50:04] individually with them. And the
[00:50:06] Democratic governors invariably say, "I
[00:50:09] love everything that you're doing. I
[00:50:10] want to do, you know, the SNAP waiverss.
[00:50:12] I want to do rid of the petroleum based
[00:50:15] food dyes. I want to make sure our kids
[00:50:18] have whole foods in their schools. That
[00:50:20] we have it in our prisons that we give
[00:50:22] it to the military.
[00:50:24] that we have that mothers have access to
[00:50:27] baby formula that doesn't have arsenic
[00:50:29] in it that doesn't have mercury or or or
[00:50:32] lead in it and they want the same thing
[00:50:35] but they also say I can't call myself
[00:50:39] maha because
[00:50:41] that's going to make it look like I like
[00:50:43] Trump and I think um that's a sad thing
[00:50:48] that uh that you know so many Democrat
[00:50:52] you know the stuff that I'm doing up
[00:50:54] there are all things that Democrats have
[00:50:56] said that they were going to do for 40
[00:50:58] years
[00:51:00] this year. And you know, getting rid of
[00:51:02] their getting rid of the attack on
[00:51:04] saturated fats, the war on saturated
[00:51:06] fats, getting rid of the war on hormone
[00:51:09] replacement therapy for women was so
[00:51:11] damaging to women for so many years,
[00:51:14] decades,
[00:51:15] and we've ended that. and uh and
[00:51:20] these
[00:51:23] these were all democratic issues
[00:51:26] and yet they cannot because of the the
[00:51:29] partisan nature of politics in this
[00:51:31] country. They cannot say they cannot
[00:51:35] they can't give you a pat on the back if
[00:51:37] you do something even that they like.
[00:51:39] And uh um you know I realized this many
[00:51:43] years ago when I saw the Democrats
[00:51:49] you know had had hated NAFTA for so long
[00:51:53] and then President Trump said that he
[00:51:56] hated NAFTA and all of a sudden the
[00:51:58] Democrats love NAFTA
[00:52:01] and I was like oh this is how it works
[00:52:03] now that President Trump is actually not
[00:52:06] only creating the platform for the
[00:52:08] Republican party, but he's creating the
[00:52:10] platform for the Democratic party
[00:52:12] because whatever he says, they have to
[00:52:14] do the opposite. And uh you know, when I
[00:52:17] grew up, the Democrats were the anti-war
[00:52:20] party, but when President Trump said he
[00:52:22] was against the war in in Ukraine, they
[00:52:25] became the pro-war party. And now that
[00:52:28] and you know, for my issue, it was a
[00:52:31] Democratic issue to get the dyes out of
[00:52:33] food and have SNAP waiverss, etc. But
[00:52:36] now it's a Republican issue. because
[00:52:39] President Trump said that, you know,
[00:52:41] because President Trump put his arm
[00:52:42] around me and endorsed this issue and
[00:52:45] said we're going to make we're going to
[00:52:47] end chronic disease in this country and
[00:52:48] make America healthy. We should all be
[00:52:50] applauding that. But it's the partisan
[00:52:53] nature of our politics and I think that
[00:52:55] is a big threat to our country and um
[00:52:58] you know that kind of partisanship that
[00:53:00] tribalism.
[00:53:04] [applause]
[00:53:10] Well, speaking of partisanship,
[00:53:12] um you've been one of the most
[00:53:15] unconventional figures in modern
[00:53:17] American politics recently. you
[00:53:20] challenged in the in the last election,
[00:53:22] you challenged both major parties and
[00:53:25] appealed to voters across ideological
[00:53:28] lines running as as an independent. What
[00:53:31] does your campaign's success say about
[00:53:33] the current state of the two-party
[00:53:36] system and do you believe it can
[00:53:37] represent the American people
[00:53:39] effectively?
[00:53:42] I don't think I I think it's hard for to
[00:53:45] have a third party in this country. And
[00:53:47] you know, having now been in the
[00:53:50] government for a while, I um I think it
[00:53:53] would if I had won the presidency as an
[00:53:56] independent that it would have been very
[00:53:57] very hard for me to govern. And
[00:53:59] President Trump has gotten more done
[00:54:02] than any other president in this period
[00:54:04] of time. And he
[00:54:07] [applause]
[00:54:10] >> [cheering]
[00:54:14] >> But he's done that
[00:54:16] he's done it by um because he controls
[00:54:20] both parties in the in the House and in
[00:54:23] the Senate. He controls both houses and
[00:54:26] because of his personal power that you
[00:54:29] know he can actually cause people
[00:54:32] elections
[00:54:34] that he's able to whip both houses into
[00:54:36] shape. So, he was able to pass all
[00:54:38] whether you like the legislation or not.
[00:54:41] He was able to do probably more than any
[00:54:43] at least any president since um since uh
[00:54:47] Franklin Roosevelt's first term.
[00:54:50] Um and and arguably more than that. I
[00:54:54] mean, the tariffs are whether you like
[00:54:56] them or not, you know, it's a uh it's
[00:54:58] just an extraordinary change. and you
[00:55:01] know all of the things that we're doing
[00:55:02] right now are so dramatic changes
[00:55:05] in the trajectory of the past and I
[00:55:08] don't think any other person could have
[00:55:09] done that. Now I don't think the
[00:55:14] two-party system is inherently flawed.
[00:55:17] I think the current system is badly
[00:55:19] flawed because it's not really a
[00:55:21] two-party system anymore. It's a part
[00:55:23] it's at least the Democratic party is
[00:55:26] controlled by this narrow elite.
[00:55:29] And you know I can tell you from my own
[00:55:31] experience my father
[00:55:34] ran against an incumbent president of
[00:55:36] the United States from his own party
[00:55:37] Lyndon Johnson and he had a fair
[00:55:40] fighting field and he drove Johnson out
[00:55:43] of the race and you know he would have
[00:55:46] won the race. He was on his way to um to
[00:55:49] the convention to win when he was
[00:55:52] killed. My uncle Ted Kennedy in 1980 ran
[00:55:56] against an incumbent president of his
[00:55:58] own party, Jimmy Carter. And I ran the
[00:56:01] southern states for him during that
[00:56:03] campaign and he had he ended up losing,
[00:56:06] but he had a fair fight and he almost
[00:56:08] won and he won a lot of primaries.
[00:56:11] And so when I ran, you know, I got up to
[00:56:15] about 25% of the vote and the Democrats
[00:56:19] started closing down the primaries,
[00:56:22] making rules so that I could not even if
[00:56:24] I won the primary, I couldn't get
[00:56:26] delegates. They made a rule that after I
[00:56:30] went to campaign in New Hampshire, they
[00:56:32] made a rule that any Democratic
[00:56:34] candidate who steps foot into the state
[00:56:36] of New Hampshire
[00:56:38] cannot get any delegates from that
[00:56:40] state.
[00:56:41] So they started doing that and then when
[00:56:43] I, you know, my numbers kept improving,
[00:56:45] they started suing me and they ended up
[00:56:48] suing me in 12 states to try to keep me
[00:56:51] off the ballot and then they sued me in
[00:56:53] 12 states to keep me on the ballot when
[00:56:55] I endorsed Trump. And so it was using
[00:56:58] litig and then they didn't just sue me,
[00:57:01] they sued Dean Phillips, they sued
[00:57:03] Maryanne Williams, they sued President
[00:57:06] Trump. And you remember when they won
[00:57:08] the lawsuits that stopped him from being
[00:57:12] on the ballot in Colorado,
[00:57:14] which I thought I was running against
[00:57:16] President Trump at that time and I said
[00:57:18] that's not fair. You know, Americans
[00:57:21] should get to vote for the person. This
[00:57:23] shouldn't be decided in court. And my
[00:57:26] party was the party of of voting rights.
[00:57:29] When I grew up, my father and my uncle
[00:57:31] were all fighting to make sure every
[00:57:32] American had a right to vote. Oh, I was
[00:57:35] in a Democratic party where they decided
[00:57:37] they wanted President Biden
[00:57:40] and who was not competent to serve, but
[00:57:44] it was a narrow group of people who made
[00:57:46] that decision and that anybody who ran
[00:57:48] against him would simply not be allowed
[00:57:50] to run.
[00:57:52] And that's not that kind of two-party
[00:57:55] system is not going to work because I
[00:57:57] think it just makes people angry. And um
[00:58:01] and I don't think it's good for the
[00:58:02] Democratic Party and I don't think it's
[00:58:05] morally right and I don't think it's
[00:58:07] good for our democracy.
[00:58:12] [applause]
[00:58:18] As we all know, and you've already
[00:58:19] mentioned this a couple times now, but
[00:58:21] you've come from one of the most
[00:58:22] influential political families in
[00:58:23] American history. and and when you
[00:58:25] decided to run outside of this two-party
[00:58:27] structure, what lessons from watching
[00:58:28] your family's campaigns over the years
[00:58:30] really proved to be true? And which of
[00:58:33] you has really stuck with you over this
[00:58:34] time, especially in the political
[00:58:35] atmosphere that we currently encounter?
[00:58:38] >> Well, you know, I kind of answered that
[00:58:40] question before because I talked about
[00:58:42] how I ran originally, I was prompted to
[00:58:45] run because I thought the Democrats had
[00:58:47] lost their bearings. I thought uh you
[00:58:49] know the Democratic Party used is is now
[00:58:52] the party of war instead of the party of
[00:58:54] peace. It was the party of free speech.
[00:58:57] Now it's the party of censorship.
[00:58:59] It was the party of of closed borders.
[00:59:03] You know when I was a kid the Democrats
[00:59:06] I worked for Caesar Sha with Caesar
[00:59:08] Chavez for the last 10 years of his life
[00:59:10] from 1983 to 1993. a very very close
[00:59:14] political ally of my father and I was
[00:59:16] working with him on pesticide issues. He
[00:59:18] had two issues at that time and I was a
[00:59:21] pbear in his funeral. He had two issues
[00:59:24] and one was pesticide use which was
[00:59:27] hurting farm workers and the other issue
[00:59:30] was closing the border because at that
[00:59:33] time it was the Republicans who wanted
[00:59:35] an open border because that it that uh
[00:59:38] dropped the price of le the cost of
[00:59:40] labor.
[00:59:41] So traditionally the Republicans wanted
[00:59:44] open borders because lower labor costs
[00:59:47] and the Democrats wanted to close the
[00:59:49] borders. So okay that's where I had come
[00:59:51] from. So now we were in just we were in
[00:59:54] like opposite land and my um you know my
[00:59:58] uncle the Democrats were the the party
[01:00:01] of women's sports. My uncle Ted Kennedy
[01:00:05] wrote Title Nine because women had to
[01:00:08] have their own sports and now the
[01:00:10] Democratic Party was okay but men get to
[01:00:13] play them too. And uh and and then you
[01:00:16] know they became the party of of big AB
[01:00:19] of big chemical of big food of big
[01:00:23] pharma and and they just seem to be the
[01:00:26] opposite of the party that I grew up
[01:00:28] with. and um and and that's why I ran
[01:00:33] and uh and then when I ran and was not
[01:00:36] allowed to run and it became more and
[01:00:39] more obvious to me that there was a
[01:00:41] level of corruption
[01:00:43] that was not it was just not good for
[01:00:46] our country and it was terrible for the
[01:00:49] Democratic party. I I don't think it's
[01:00:52] sustainable and you know I hope that a I
[01:00:55] hope they learn a lesson from what
[01:00:57] happened the last time.
[01:01:08] So, this is our last question before we
[01:01:10] go to the Q&A portion of this, but I
[01:01:12] think it's a it's a good one to end off
[01:01:13] on. And you've been a part of this
[01:01:15] administration, a very memorable one.
[01:01:17] What is one experience that you've had a
[01:01:19] funny experience, fun experience that
[01:01:20] really just is with you with especially
[01:01:23] with Donald Trump maybe himself?
[01:01:25] >> Funny experiences.
[01:01:26] >> Yeah.
[01:01:29] I mean, every day is like a comedy show,
[01:01:31] honestly.
[01:01:33] And and the cabinet meetings are,
[01:01:38] you know, President Trump is is
[01:01:41] hilarious. Oh, and you know, he's funny.
[01:01:44] He's irreverent.
[01:01:47] People love him because he's authentic.
[01:01:49] He says exactly what's on his mind. and
[01:01:53] he my wife says about him that he's just
[01:01:56] incredibly comfortable in his own skin
[01:01:59] and as a result he says a lot of funny
[01:02:02] things but the c you know the cabinet
[01:02:04] this is probably the funniest cabinet
[01:02:07] um in American history there's a lot of
[01:02:10] funny per people I was I was talking to
[01:02:12] Mar to I mean to JD the other day I did
[01:02:16] a one of these um fireside chats with
[01:02:19] him at the at the Maha uh thing and I I
[01:02:23] said to him who's the funniest cabinet
[01:02:25] member and both of us agreed it's Marco
[01:02:29] and at every cabinet meeting he says
[01:02:32] something that is that makes everybody
[01:02:35] you know just crumble in hysterics but
[01:02:38] again and again um and I can't well I I
[01:02:42] I'll just give you an example and this
[01:02:44] one this isn't that great an example but
[01:02:47] one time Elon
[01:02:49] was u this before they at the president.
[01:02:52] you know, we have a a private cabinet
[01:02:54] meeting first and Elon Musk was saying
[01:02:57] that was going through all of his Doge
[01:03:00] data
[01:03:01] and he was saying we found 250,000
[01:03:04] Americans
[01:03:06] over the age of 124
[01:03:09] who are collecting um uh uh who were who
[01:03:16] are colle collecting
[01:03:19] social who are collecting um
[01:03:22] uh work workers compensation.
[01:03:27] And Marco said, "Well, in their defense,
[01:03:30] it's pretty hard to find a job when
[01:03:32] you're over 124."
[01:03:34] And then I told this story the other day
[01:03:37] with Marco that President Trump came
[01:03:40] into one of the cabinet meetings after
[01:03:42] he visited Hawaii with President Putin
[01:03:44] and he had a big poster board
[01:03:48] with a picture of him and he's very tall
[01:03:52] and President Putin standing next to him
[01:03:54] and President Putin came up about here.
[01:03:57] They were standing outside at the
[01:03:58] conference hall in Hawaii and he said to
[01:04:01] us, "You know what I said to President
[01:04:03] Putin?" He said, "I've he said,
[01:04:06] Vladimir, I've had it up to here with
[01:04:08] you."
[01:04:10] And he said," he said, "Putin really
[01:04:12] laughed at that."
[01:04:17] [applause]
[01:04:18] And I I saw President Trump the other
[01:04:21] day when he was with the Syrian
[01:04:23] president
[01:04:25] and he he
[01:04:28] took some perfume from he has a back
[01:04:30] room with all his with all his swag in
[01:04:32] it with towels with his, you know, logo
[01:04:35] and hats and he has a perfume back
[01:04:38] there, a Trump perfume. and he brought
[01:04:40] it out and he squirted some on on the
[01:04:43] Syrian president and he said and he said
[01:04:47] I'm get some of this for your wife and
[01:04:49] he said how many wives do you have
[01:04:53] any president said one he said I never
[01:04:56] know with you guys
[01:04:58] anyway
[01:05:00] it's a lot of entertainment and um you
[01:05:04] know and uh and then I think we've
[01:05:07] gotten more done than probably any
[01:05:09] administration in history.
[01:05:13] [applause]
[01:05:23] >> Well, that was that was truly truly a
[01:05:25] story. Several stories, actually. Um,
[01:05:28] now, ladies and gentlemen, we're going
[01:05:30] to open the floor. I think you guys have
[01:05:32] heard enough from Paul and I asking our
[01:05:33] questions. So now in in honor of Charlie
[01:05:37] Kirk and obviously for the reason that
[01:05:39] we're here, we're opening the floor to
[01:05:41] you guys so that you can ask the
[01:05:43] secretary right here live your
[01:05:45] questions.
[01:05:47] So if you have a question, come up and
[01:05:49] if you disagree with the secretary in
[01:05:52] any respect, come to the front of the
[01:05:54] line, please.
[01:05:56] We'd love to hear your questions.
[01:06:13] Speak on me then.
[01:06:24] >> Is this off? And we're going to ask,
[01:06:26] please make the questions direct so we
[01:06:27] can have everyone go. If you disagree,
[01:06:29] get to the front of line. direct
[01:06:31] questions please. Thank you.
[01:06:54] >> I know.
[01:07:09] All right. All right. Let's let's get
[01:07:11] this started. Sir, if you could share
[01:07:14] your name and and where you're from.
[01:07:16] >> All right. Hi, Secretary Kennedy. My
[01:07:18] name is Ethan Fitzgerald. I'm from San
[01:07:20] Diego, California. I'm a master student
[01:07:23] here at GW. So, I want to start with
[01:07:25] saying though we may disagree with each
[01:07:27] other on many issues, I'm here today
[01:07:29] because I care deeply about our nation's
[01:07:31] mental health crisis and ensuring that
[01:07:33] young people receive the necessary
[01:07:35] support they desperately need. At GW, a
[01:07:38] group of students are already working to
[01:07:39] push Congress to pass existing
[01:07:41] bipartisan mental health legislation
[01:07:43] that would expand access to mental
[01:07:45] health resources on college campuses as
[01:07:47] well as nationwide. I'm happy to give
[01:07:48] you some specific bills, but I have two
[01:07:50] questions for you. First, will you join
[01:07:52] GW students in supporting that effort?
[01:07:54] And second, what more could you be doing
[01:07:56] at HHS to help Americans get the access
[01:07:58] to mental health support they need and
[01:08:00] deserve? Thank you.
[01:08:03] [applause and cheering]
[01:08:07] >> We're I I don't want to be a spoiler.
[01:08:10] We're going to uh we're announcing a
[01:08:13] major mental health initiative that is
[01:08:15] all about access
[01:08:18] um next week. So, um, but I don't
[01:08:25] I don't I'm not familiar with the
[01:08:28] legislation that you're talking about.
[01:08:30] So, I I can't endorse it without
[01:08:32] understanding it. I endorse the
[01:08:34] principle. We have a mental health
[01:08:36] crisis in this country. My family has
[01:08:38] been touched with it. I was myself a
[01:08:42] heroin addict for 14 years. I've been in
[01:08:46] recovery for 43 years. And I [applause]
[01:08:55] and particularly you know the the issue
[01:08:58] of addiction is very important to me and
[01:09:01] access to services can be life or death.
[01:09:04] We need to make sure that, you know,
[01:09:06] addicts go through these cycles where
[01:09:08] they they they hit a nater a bottom and
[01:09:12] for a few hours or a day or two they're
[01:09:15] willing to get help. And that if help is
[01:09:19] accessible at that moment it can save
[01:09:22] their lives. And if it isn't then, you
[01:09:25] know, they're a ransom to fortune.
[01:09:28] And [laughter] um and so you know that's
[01:09:31] one issue. But we it is a crisis. We
[01:09:34] have your generation particularly you
[01:09:37] know suicide is now the highest cause of
[01:09:39] death and we're losing uh we're losing a
[01:09:44] whole generation to addiction and mental
[01:09:46] health illness and it's not necessary.
[01:09:49] Oh uh it's something it's a priority for
[01:09:53] us. Thanks.
[01:10:00] Hello Secretary Kennedy. It's great to
[01:10:02] meet you. Uh, my name is Ben. I'm from
[01:10:03] the Republic of Ireland and I'm with the
[01:10:05] Turning Point chapter here. So, I just
[01:10:07] wanted to congratulate you on everything
[01:10:09] you've been doing with your MA. And I
[01:10:11] wanted to ask, what's your ideal end
[01:10:13] goal for this movement
[01:10:15] >> to end the chronic disease crisis
[01:10:18] to make America the healthiest country
[01:10:20] in the world like it was when I was a
[01:10:21] kid? the most robust people um you know
[01:10:25] were
[01:10:27] uh
[01:10:28] you know I said this in my when I um
[01:10:31] when I endorsed President Trump I said a
[01:10:35] healthy person has a thousand dreams and
[01:10:37] a sick person just has one and we've got
[01:10:40] a whole generation now of kids who are
[01:10:44] sick and they have only one dream and we
[01:10:47] want to give them the American dream
[01:10:49] which is thousands of dreams about their
[01:10:51] future ure their aspirations,
[01:10:54] fulfilling the the um the promises that
[01:10:58] the the talents that God gave them. And
[01:11:03] uh and for many of them, their lives are
[01:11:05] going to be consumed in the in the in
[01:11:08] the struggle with pain, with chronic
[01:11:11] pain and chronic disease. And we've got
[01:11:13] to end that. We got to identify the
[01:11:14] exposures, get rid of them, and then
[01:11:16] figure out treatments.
[01:11:19] [applause]
[01:11:25] Uh, thank you for coming tonight, Mr.
[01:11:26] Secretary. My name is Gave Caner. I'm a
[01:11:28] junior from New York City studying
[01:11:30] international medicine, political
[01:11:31] science. And my question is that as HHS
[01:11:33] secretary, you promoted the need to
[01:11:35] address various various health crises
[01:11:37] such as obesity, allergies, and other
[01:11:39] chronic diseases. My question for you is
[01:11:41] why should you lead this fight and not a
[01:11:42] doctor who holds a degree and who spent
[01:11:44] their career studying this illnesses?
[01:11:46] Wouldn't their past knowledge and
[01:11:47] expertise be more beneficial especially
[01:11:49] at a time where this is very important
[01:11:51] to attack?
[01:11:52] >> I didn't I didn't hear your question.
[01:11:53] Your question
[01:11:55] just let me listen to his question.
[01:11:57] [applause]
[01:11:58] I heard the introduction but what was
[01:11:59] the question again?
[01:12:01] >> My question is why why should why should
[01:12:03] you be the person to lead this fight?
[01:12:05] Not saying that you shouldn't but why do
[01:12:06] you think you should be this person to
[01:12:07] lead the fight against all all these
[01:12:08] diseases this in spite of instead of a
[01:12:11] doctor per se who has past knowledge and
[01:12:13] experience in the fields.
[01:12:15] Well, I mean, I'll point out this. I'm
[01:12:19] the 27th HHS secretary,
[01:12:23] and of the 26 that preceded me, only two
[01:12:27] have been doctors.
[01:12:29] And there's [applause]
[01:12:35] and and there's never been a doctor
[01:12:38] appointed by the Democrats. The only two
[01:12:40] doctors were appointed by Republicans.
[01:12:43] [applause]
[01:12:43] uh
[01:12:46] you know um the the the people who have
[01:12:50] been running HHS up till now have failed
[01:12:53] us.
[01:12:55] The agencies have failed us. We're now
[01:12:58] the sickest country in the world. We
[01:13:00] spend two to three times what
[01:13:04] people spend in Europe for health care.
[01:13:07] And we spend almost as much as all the
[01:13:10] countries in the world combined. And yet
[01:13:12] we have the worst health outcomes
[01:13:15] of the top 79 nations in the world. We
[01:13:19] have the highest infant mortality rates.
[01:13:22] We've lost 10 years in longevity to
[01:13:24] Europe.
[01:13:26] We're we have cancer rates are
[01:13:28] exploding.
[01:13:30] Diabetes were leading the world. Um and
[01:13:35] uh and obesity were leading the world.
[01:13:39] So whatever they were doing in the past
[01:13:42] was wrong. During COVID,
[01:13:45] we had 19% of the COVID deaths in this
[01:13:48] country globally. We only have 4.2% of
[01:13:52] the world's population. We literally had
[01:13:55] the worst record of any country in the
[01:13:57] world. Whoever was running it should
[01:14:01] have been fired because they we did
[01:14:04] worse than any nation. [applause]
[01:14:07] So,
[01:14:09] you know, I don't have a medical degree,
[01:14:12] but I've spent 40 years reading science
[01:14:17] and litigating it and writing books on
[01:14:19] it.
[01:14:21] I've written [applause]
[01:14:23] I've written six books on public health
[01:14:27] and so and I'm an advocate and I know
[01:14:30] how to change things and I'm not scared
[01:14:32] to disrupt things and the these agencies
[01:14:35] need to be disrupted. They need to
[01:14:38] change their direction. [applause]
[01:14:41] My job is not to protect the
[01:14:44] bureaucracy. My job is to protect public
[01:14:47] health. And when I leave this agency,
[01:14:50] it's going to be much better equipped to
[01:14:52] protect public health than when I found
[01:14:54] it.
[01:14:57] [applause]
[01:15:01] >> Hello. Hi, I'm a student from Georgetown
[01:15:03] University. Thank you for coming here to
[01:15:05] speak to students in DC. Um, I want to
[01:15:08] ask you specifically given the scale of
[01:15:10] your maja agenda from managing processed
[01:15:13] foods to cleaning up environmental
[01:15:15] toxins. um you know obviously many
[01:15:17] voters want clarity over outcome. So in
[01:15:21] that case um as you know from common
[01:15:23] sense that you know population health
[01:15:26] indicators occur over decades not
[01:15:28] election cycles. So after four years in
[01:15:31] 2029 um looking back to this
[01:15:33] conversation what tangible health
[01:15:36] metrics would you like to use to measure
[01:15:38] success?
[01:15:41] [applause]
[01:15:47] There's a lot of tangible health
[01:15:49] metrics. One is that every American, you
[01:15:51] know, a lot of it is in the agency of
[01:15:53] CMS, which is Medicaid, Medicare, that
[01:15:57] we've gotten rid of the fraud or 90% of
[01:16:01] it, that Americans can get prior
[01:16:04] authorization
[01:16:06] or that they know before they leave
[01:16:08] their doctor's office how much the
[01:16:11] procedure is going to cost and whether
[01:16:13] their insurance company's going to pay
[01:16:14] for it. We're already doing that. I want
[01:16:17] to make sure that every American
[01:16:20] has access to their medical records on
[01:16:22] their cell phones. Um, I want to make
[01:16:25] sure that people are have access to
[01:16:28] remote care in remote parts of this
[01:16:30] country, that they have access to AI
[01:16:33] nurses and um and the best possible
[01:16:37] care. But most of all, I want to make
[01:16:40] sure that we we have begun to end the
[01:16:43] chronic disease epidemic. And
[01:16:46] particularly in the youngest generation
[01:16:47] of kids at the by by the time I leave
[01:16:51] office, you're going to see a generation
[01:16:55] maybe a year, maybe two years where
[01:16:57] you're seeing a lot less ADHD.
[01:17:00] You're seeing a lot less uh autism.
[01:17:04] you're seeing fewer
[01:17:06] neurological disorders, uh, ASD, ADD,
[01:17:12] uh, sleep disorders, language
[01:17:15] delays,
[01:17:16] ticks, Tourett syndrome, narcolepsy,
[01:17:19] fewer autoimmune autoimmune diseases,
[01:17:22] fewer allergic diseases. And I believe
[01:17:25] that we're going to achieve that. and uh
[01:17:28] and then you know that we're that we get
[01:17:32] more drugs to market per year than any
[01:17:34] other administration in history. I think
[01:17:37] we're on track to do that and that we're
[01:17:39] running an agency that's completely
[01:17:41] focused on public health rather than
[01:17:44] profits for the pharmaceutical industry.
[01:17:48] [applause]
[01:17:52] >> Hello, I'm Ryan. I'm a freshman here at
[01:17:54] GW. First of all, thank you so much for
[01:17:57] being here um and speaking with us
[01:17:59] today. Obviously, you're very concerned
[01:18:01] with the current medical crisis in our
[01:18:03] country. Um you talked a lot about it
[01:18:06] during the regular Q&A section, and I
[01:18:08] agree with a lot of your concerns and
[01:18:10] desires for an ambitious medical
[01:18:13] campaign. However, we also see at the
[01:18:16] same time that the administration is
[01:18:18] cutting a lot of funding for medical
[01:18:20] research and firing a lot of people
[01:18:22] within the medical department. So, how
[01:18:25] are you able to balance this policy of
[01:18:27] wanting to downsize government while
[01:18:29] also having this policy to have an
[01:18:31] ambitious medical campaign?
[01:18:34] >> Um, [applause]
[01:18:39] we're not cutting science. We're not
[01:18:42] cutting research.
[01:18:44] And you Yeah, we're cutting
[01:18:48] We're Yeah, we're not cutting research.
[01:18:50] Now, there were some studies paused
[01:18:54] during the riffs, so you may mistake
[01:18:58] those for us cutting them, but all of
[01:19:01] those studies are are uh are renewed.
[01:19:05] And there were no clinical trials
[01:19:07] abandoned. All of the clinical trials
[01:19:10] are continuing to be funded. We're
[01:19:13] cutting bure bureaucrats. were cutting.
[01:19:15] We had we had 42
[01:19:19] communications departments. We had uh we
[01:19:23] had 40 IT departments and most of them
[01:19:27] were using computer systems that were
[01:19:28] incompatible with each other. We have uh
[01:19:33] we I think we had over 50
[01:19:36] HIV programs and we consolidated them.
[01:19:39] We didn't cut the research, we
[01:19:41] consolidated them. So if you look at CNN
[01:19:44] or read the New York Times, you'll read
[01:19:46] that we cut programs. And I keep telling
[01:19:48] reporters, "Show me a study that we
[01:19:52] cut." And if we cut a study on child
[01:19:56] health, on cancer, on pediatric tumors,
[01:19:59] whatever it was, that I will make sure
[01:20:02] it gets restored
[01:20:04] because I
[01:20:06] my agencies,
[01:20:09] Marty McCary [applause] and Jay Bachara
[01:20:12] are telling me we did not cut any
[01:20:15] studies.
[01:20:17] And I keep asking reporters who come up
[01:20:19] to me and say, "Oh, you cut all this
[01:20:20] science." I keep saying, "Tell me the
[01:20:23] study that you're worried about because
[01:20:26] I will restore it if we cut a study."
[01:20:29] Now we cut a billion dollars worth of
[01:20:32] DEI studies
[01:20:35] [applause and cheering]
[01:20:41] [applause]
[01:20:43] and we got
[01:20:47] and we got I think about $600 million
[01:20:51] worth of autism genetic studies. And
[01:20:55] this is what they did. Okay. what they
[01:20:58] did at NIH because they didn't want to
[01:21:01] study the environmental causes of autism
[01:21:05] because of whatever they study, they're
[01:21:07] going to run up against some powerhouse.
[01:21:10] So they said, "We're going to take all
[01:21:12] the money that Congress gave us to study
[01:21:14] autism and we're going to find the
[01:21:15] genetic cause of autism." Well, guess
[01:21:18] what? Genes do not cause epidemics. They
[01:21:21] may provide a vulnerability, but you
[01:21:23] need an environmental toxin.
[01:21:26] And it's the same thing as if the last
[01:21:29] 60 years they had been studying the
[01:21:32] genetic cause of lung cancer and refused
[01:21:36] to do a single study on cigarettes.
[01:21:39] That's what they were doing. It was all
[01:21:41] a big scam.
[01:21:43] Now we're taking the money away from
[01:21:44] those hoax studies and we're putting it
[01:21:48] in real science so that we can find the
[01:21:50] causes of it. [applause]
[01:21:58] Hi. Uh my name is Josh. I'm a sophomore
[01:22:00] here at uh GW. I was curious um I know
[01:22:03] you've uh in the past were the uh chair
[01:22:06] of the uh Children's Health Defense uh
[01:22:08] nonprofit organization, a organization
[01:22:10] that has uh uh believe that um uh
[01:22:14] vaccines are a a contributing cause of
[01:22:17] autism. uh despite many uh studies of on
[01:22:20] on hundreds of thousands of children
[01:22:23] showing otherwise with the exception of
[01:22:26] studies done by frauds like Andrew
[01:22:27] Wakefield uh with a handful of subjects
[01:22:30] whereas with studies with hundreds of
[01:22:32] thousands of subjects they find no
[01:22:35] correlation at all to autism. Do you uh
[01:22:38] still agree with the claims by
[01:22:40] children's health defense or have you
[01:22:42] distanced themselves now or do you uh
[01:22:45] being the uh uh chair of the um of um
[01:22:48] health and human services for the US uh
[01:22:51] now maybe are more educated on that and
[01:22:53] do not believe that anymore?
[01:22:56] >> Oh,
[01:22:58] I believe what I've always believe is
[01:23:01] that we need to study the cause of
[01:23:04] autism. Now you say
[01:23:08] that autism had in fact the vac the
[01:23:12] potential for vaccines to cause autism
[01:23:13] has been studied. In fact, only one
[01:23:17] vaccine has ever been studied, the MMR
[01:23:19] vaccine. The seven the 20 doses of the
[01:23:24] seven vaccines that are given during the
[01:23:26] first year of life.
[01:23:29] It's ETP, the HIP, the hepatitis B, the
[01:23:32] numaccoal vaccines, and the polio
[01:23:36] vaccines have never been studied. And in
[01:23:39] fact, Congress when it passed the 1986
[01:23:43] vaccine act said, "You've got to study
[01:23:46] the DTP vaccine." He directed the HHS
[01:23:48] secretary to study the DTP vaccine to
[01:23:52] see whether or not it's caused autism.
[01:23:55] that study in so that was 86 it's now tw
[01:24:01] uh 25
[01:24:03] so that's what that's 40 years ago 40
[01:24:06] years ago and those studies have never
[01:24:08] been done the only studies that were
[01:24:11] done were MMR studies and they were all
[01:24:13] epidemiological studies which is not you
[01:24:18] can't prove causation with an
[01:24:19] epidemiological study anyway and in 2017
[01:24:23] the Institute of Medicine and looked at
[01:24:25] all of the MMR studies and they threw
[01:24:28] out all but four of them.
[01:24:31] >> So, and the four that were left were all
[01:24:33] epidemiological studies and none of them
[01:24:35] did what you would want to do if you
[01:24:37] actually wanted the answer, which is to
[01:24:40] compare health outcomes in a vaccinated
[01:24:42] group against health outcomes in an
[01:24:46] unvaccinated group. That's what we need
[01:24:48] to do. And those the studies we're doing
[01:24:50] now, they have never been done. The
[01:24:53] people who told you that have been lying
[01:24:55] to you. They've been lying. [applause]
[01:25:05] Hello. I'm a student at GW and I wanted
[01:25:08] to know more info about uh what your
[01:25:11] beliefs were on the deregulation of the
[01:25:13] agricultural industry and maybe
[01:25:16] whether that deregulation should
[01:25:20] actually be a indicator of focusing on
[01:25:22] the system that
[01:25:25] benefits more profit instead of people
[01:25:28] >> if what
[01:25:29] >> sorry
[01:25:32] uh basically what I'm asking is do you
[01:25:35] think that the system in general should
[01:25:36] be changed from caring about profit
[01:25:38] motive to caring about the well-being of
[01:25:40] people by actually doing regulation of
[01:25:43] these agricultural systems instead of
[01:25:47] deregulating them.
[01:25:50] >> Are you talking about agricultural
[01:25:51] chemicals?
[01:25:52] >> Yes.
[01:25:54] >> So, you know, I've done a lot of
[01:25:56] litigation in that area. I, you know,
[01:25:58] did the litigation against Monsanto
[01:26:02] has been an issue that, you know, I've
[01:26:04] been deeply concerned with for many
[01:26:06] years.
[01:26:08] It's not a an area that I directly
[01:26:12] regulate as HHS secretary.
[01:26:15] That is done by USDA.
[01:26:18] And um so we're doing research at my
[01:26:22] agency on those chemicals, but I don't
[01:26:26] have direct authority over regulating
[01:26:29] them.
[01:26:37] >> Hi, I'm currently getting my degree in
[01:26:40] public health from George Washington
[01:26:41] University. One of the primary things
[01:26:44] that we focus on are social determinants
[01:26:46] of health. The there is extensive data
[01:26:49] that shows that factors such as
[01:26:51] someone's economic status, systemic and
[01:26:54] medical racism, and various
[01:26:55] environmental factors influence and
[01:26:58] predict someone's health outcome to a
[01:27:00] far higher extent than someone's
[01:27:03] necessarily personal action. And so I'm
[01:27:06] wondering how we can find out and solve
[01:27:08] the problem of making America healthy if
[01:27:11] the federal government has banned terms
[01:27:13] including health disparity, race, and
[01:27:16] accessibility from grants and research
[01:27:19] proposals when we know these are the
[01:27:21] things that we must be looking into in
[01:27:23] order to solve these problems.
[01:27:26] [applause]
[01:27:36] We're what we do at our agency now is
[01:27:38] we're focusing on science and if you're
[01:27:41] poor or if you're rich and you smoke
[01:27:45] cigarettes, you have a one in5 chance of
[01:27:47] dying of lung cancer. And so we're
[01:27:50] trying to give people the right
[01:27:52] information and it's for all Americans.
[01:27:56] It's not for Americans who are one
[01:27:57] color, another color, another religion,
[01:27:59] another or one religion. It is objective
[01:28:03] science that we're trying to get
[01:28:06] information in front of the American
[01:28:08] people so that they can make good
[01:28:11] choices of their own lives. And uh you
[01:28:14] know I run the Indian health services.
[01:28:17] I run the Head Start program. We are
[01:28:21] deeply concerned. We're changing the the
[01:28:23] the we just got rid of uh mercury dental
[01:28:26] amalgams on the reservations. We're
[01:28:28] ending that. We're getting,
[01:28:32] we're changing the food in Head Start,
[01:28:35] which is all processed foods right now.
[01:28:38] You go in there and everything comes in
[01:28:39] a package. We're going to give those
[01:28:42] kids good food. We I don't need somebody
[01:28:44] telling me that they're going to get
[01:28:47] sicker because they're poorer or because
[01:28:49] they're blacker or browner than than
[01:28:51] somebody else. I know that processed
[01:28:53] food is going to kill them. And it's
[01:28:56] killing poor people at a much higher
[01:28:58] rate because they live in food deserts.
[01:29:01] We know that. We don't need a study to
[01:29:03] show that. [applause]
[01:29:06] But we want good information and we want
[01:29:10] to give it to all Americans because we
[01:29:12] are all in this together. And we all
[01:29:14] need to get rid of the processed food
[01:29:16] and make sure every American has access
[01:29:18] to good, wholesome, whole food that
[01:29:21] comes from the ground to the water, the
[01:29:23] air. [applause and cheering]
[01:29:31] Good evening, Secretary Kennedy. Thank
[01:29:33] you so much for being here tonight. My
[01:29:34] name is Abigail Sullivan and I'm the
[01:29:36] president of a chapter at Patrick Henry
[01:29:38] College, TPS USA there. My question is a
[01:29:42] little bit on a different side of
[01:29:44] accomplishing your goals as secretary
[01:29:46] for your term. Will you be able to do
[01:29:47] these things? And how can we as the
[01:29:49] younger generation carry on with these
[01:29:52] goals in the days ahead for what is
[01:29:54] coming next through this p this next
[01:29:56] administration? And how can we
[01:29:58] practically educate ourselves and
[01:30:01] implement these goals in our own lives?
[01:30:03] >> I I didn't understand the question.
[01:30:06] Sorry.
[01:30:07] It's how I didn't I didn't understand
[01:30:11] the question.
[01:30:12] >> That's okay. So with all of your goals
[01:30:14] that you want to accomplish practically,
[01:30:18] we want to see all of those things come
[01:30:20] to pass. What are things that you're
[01:30:23] doing that will carry forward through
[01:30:25] the generations? And how can we take
[01:30:27] that torch up for the next generation
[01:30:30] and passing those things along?
[01:30:32] >> Well, you know what? Like I I said, what
[01:30:35] I'm trying to do is make sure that we
[01:30:38] have good information, that we have good
[01:30:40] science, gold standard science, so that
[01:30:42] we can base our policies on that
[01:30:45] science. If we I want to make do the
[01:30:48] science on processed ultrarocessed
[01:30:50] foods. There's a tremendous amount of
[01:30:53] indication that ultrarocessed foods are
[01:30:55] the major driver for chronic disease in
[01:30:58] this country.
[01:31:00] It is criminal that we don't have the
[01:31:02] science already on that. We've known
[01:31:04] this for many many years. We've known
[01:31:08] that um you know we have these epidemics
[01:31:11] in our country like allergy epidemics,
[01:31:13] autism epidemic. Why do we know? Why
[01:31:15] don't we know what's causing them?
[01:31:17] There's no excuse for that. This is very
[01:31:20] basic science. And when we find those
[01:31:23] things out and identify the exposures
[01:31:26] that are causing these injuries to our
[01:31:28] children,
[01:31:30] then your generation will have the
[01:31:33] ability. They'll have the information
[01:31:35] and the ability to go out and say, "We
[01:31:38] got to get rid of these." And we're, you
[01:31:40] know, that's half the battle is figuring
[01:31:42] out what's causing all the injury. The
[01:31:44] other half of the battle is challenging
[01:31:46] these vested interests.
[01:31:49] We're not going to want us messing with
[01:31:51] our economic models.
[01:31:55] >> We have time for one more question.
[01:32:02] >> Hello, my name is Jacob. Um, I'm with
[01:32:04] the TPUSA PHC chapter. Um, I'm from
[01:32:07] Northeast Tennessee, but um, thank you
[01:32:08] for coming out today. Uh, I appreciate
[01:32:09] it. But I had a question.
[01:32:10] >> You say the CPU chapter?
[01:32:12] >> TPUSA chapter. Oh, okay. um from PE from
[01:32:15] Patrick Henry College. But um one thing
[01:32:17] I was curious about is as a kid with
[01:32:19] like a lot of food allergies that aren't
[01:32:20] covered by like the major nine FDA
[01:32:23] allergens um specifically with like
[01:32:25] natural and artificial flavors where
[01:32:28] that's kind of such a broad um like
[01:32:30] catchall. Have you considered in ever
[01:32:33] like any policy changes at looking into
[01:32:35] making that more specific so people who
[01:32:38] don't can't look at the specific
[01:32:40] allergens contained in those foods can
[01:32:42] see exactly what's in those foods?
[01:32:45] >> Are you're talking about
[01:32:48] allergens that are listed on the labels?
[01:32:50] >> Yes, on the labels. So when you see have
[01:32:52] the labels sometimes you'll see like
[01:32:54] artificial or natural flavors and when
[01:32:58] in those flavors there's like a bunch of
[01:33:00] different food additives and things but
[01:33:02] they don't get specifically labeled. So
[01:33:04] people would if you don't if you aren't
[01:33:06] in the major like nine food allergens to
[01:33:09] see like contains like peanuts for
[01:33:11] example um you won't know specifically
[01:33:13] what's in those additives. So I'm
[01:33:16] curious if you've ever considered
[01:33:17] looking
[01:33:18] >> I you know what I haven't looked at that
[01:33:20] yet. I'm I'm happy to hear more about it
[01:33:23] if you want to, you know, get in touch
[01:33:25] with me at the agency um or stath.gov
[01:33:33] and I will get that and I'll take a look
[01:33:35] at it. But I it's not something that
[01:33:37] I've given a lot of thought to I've
[01:33:38] given a lot of thought to allergies, but
[01:33:40] not to labeling.
[01:33:47] >> [applause]
[01:33:51] >> I think that's it for uh for public
[01:33:53] questions. But look, we've covered a
[01:33:55] very
[01:34:00] >> Okay, we'll we'll do one more. One more.
[01:34:03] >> One more.
[01:34:03] >> One more.
[01:34:11] Secretary, thank you for coming out
[01:34:13] tonight. But, um, I have a really
[01:34:14] important question here. There are young
[01:34:16] people in this room. Everyone here is
[01:34:18] is, I believe, under the age of 30, I
[01:34:20] want to assume. But the reality is that
[01:34:22] there are two key epidemics that are
[01:34:23] impacting young people. Mass shootings,
[01:34:26] opioid epidemic. It used to be
[01:34:28] automobile accidents, but that is now
[01:34:29] off the charts. It doesn't really matter
[01:34:31] anymore. opioids and mass shootings,
[01:34:34] opioid epidemics. You have Oxycontton
[01:34:36] being manufactured, is still legally
[01:34:37] allowed to be taking Oxycontton, which
[01:34:40] has the same addictiveness as heroin.
[01:34:42] Mass shooting epidemic is the leading
[01:34:44] cause of death for people our age. We
[01:34:46] have the most guns per person in
[01:34:48] America. I don't think most Americans
[01:34:51] believe that we should take away guns,
[01:34:53] but we should be regulating them better.
[01:34:54] We should be regulating opioids better.
[01:34:57] Why are Republicans in Congress not
[01:35:00] advocating for legislation that will
[01:35:02] address their constituencies? That's the
[01:35:04] opioid epidemic impacts rural
[01:35:06] communities. Mass shootings impact rural
[01:35:08] communities. Why won't Republicans pass
[01:35:10] legislation that address these most
[01:35:12] pivotal issues that impacts everyone in
[01:35:14] this room?
[01:35:18] [applause]
[01:35:20] I mean, I I can't I I can't speak for
[01:35:23] the Republicans in Congress. I can speak
[01:35:24] for my agency
[01:35:27] and you know my agency is taking a a lot
[01:35:31] of steps right now
[01:35:33] to um first of all to approve new
[01:35:37] nonopioid nonaddictive painkiller a new
[01:35:41] painkiller that was just developed and
[01:35:42] we we're now uh approving it for
[01:35:46] Medicaid Medicare
[01:35:48] and um and I think that that's going to
[01:35:51] help a lot and you know we're we're also
[01:35:54] So issuing the proper warnings to to
[01:35:56] doctors
[01:35:58] about and I think right now it's more
[01:36:01] difficult to get oxycodone than it was
[01:36:03] in the past. Before they were giving it
[01:36:05] out like candy and we've changed a lot
[01:36:08] of that culture at FDA and it that was
[01:36:10] directly as a result of FDA corruption
[01:36:13] of FDA
[01:36:15] tweaking the label to say that it was
[01:36:17] not addictive which was a lie and they
[01:36:20] knew it was a lie at that time. and the
[01:36:22] guy who tweaked it then went to work for
[01:36:25] Purdue found pharma. So it was, you
[01:36:28] know, this is another
[01:36:30] example of agency corruption. In terms
[01:36:32] of the mass shootings
[01:36:35] we're looking at, you know, why do we
[01:36:38] have this epidemic of mass shootings?
[01:36:41] Is is it really to do with the
[01:36:43] proliferation of guns? Because when I
[01:36:46] was a kid, we had roughly the same
[01:36:49] amount of guns per capita. And in fact,
[01:36:52] in some of the schools that I went to,
[01:36:53] there were gun clubs and kids would come
[01:36:56] to school with their guns and nobody
[01:36:58] worried that they were going to start
[01:36:59] shooting people.
[01:37:01] Oh,
[01:37:04] the question is
[01:37:06] why in the 19 and also there are other
[01:37:10] countries that have let's say comparable
[01:37:14] number of guns. For example, Switzerland
[01:37:17] um which has comparable number of guns
[01:37:20] to ours but their last mass shooting in
[01:37:22] Switzerland was 23 years ago
[01:37:26] and we have a mass shooting every 23
[01:37:28] hours.
[01:37:29] What is happening in this country in all
[01:37:32] of human history?
[01:37:34] There's never been a time when a
[01:37:36] stranger would walk into a school room
[01:37:39] or into a movie theater and start
[01:37:42] shooting strangers.
[01:37:44] Why did that start happening in the
[01:37:46] 1970s and only in this country?
[01:37:49] And one of the things that we're looking
[01:37:52] at is SSRIs and other psychiatric drugs
[01:37:59] that have these black bar sportings on
[01:38:02] them and that began proliferating in
[01:38:04] lock step with the school shootings and
[01:38:08] with the mass shootings. Oh, you know,
[01:38:11] I'm trying to look at this in a
[01:38:13] rational, objective way and say what
[01:38:15] changed. It wasn't the proliferation of
[01:38:18] guns. We've always had guns. Something
[01:38:21] changed about human behavior. And it
[01:38:24] happened here
[01:38:26] where we've got 20% of the population
[01:38:29] now taking these drugs.
[01:38:31] And the drugs, you know, in their
[01:38:34] clinical trials, they saw suicidal
[01:38:37] homicidal effects. There's blackbox
[01:38:40] warnings on them saying may cause
[01:38:43] suicidal or homicidal ideiation.
[01:38:46] We we're now doing massive studies on
[01:38:49] this issue to try to figure out why it
[01:38:52] is that all these shootings are
[01:38:53] happening here and never happened
[01:38:55] before.
[01:38:57] [applause]
[01:39:02] Well, our discussions have varied very
[01:39:04] wide today and we're obviously thankful
[01:39:06] for everyone who showed out tonight. But
[01:39:08] what we proved tonight is that Charlie
[01:39:10] Kirk's legacy will live on through open
[01:39:12] debate and freedom of speech.
[01:39:15] [cheering]
[01:39:18] [applause]
[01:39:20] >> Ladies and gentlemen, tonight would not
[01:39:23] have been made possible without all you
[01:39:24] in the audience. Tonight would not have
[01:39:27] been made possible without the
[01:39:28] incredible team that we have here both
[01:39:31] at our Foggy Bottom Turning Point
[01:39:33] chapter, those that flew out from
[01:39:35] Arizona from headquarters, the
[01:39:37] secretar's team, and those that came
[01:39:38] from all over. And of course, Secretary
[01:39:41] Kennedy, none of this would have been
[01:39:43] here without you. So, thank you, sir.
[01:39:45] Thank you. Have a good night, everybody.
[01:39:47] Thank you. [applause]
[01:39:55] >> [music]
[01:39:58] >> Every time
[01:40:01] [music]
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