An advocacy group based by former Vice President Mike Pence launched a six-figure advert marketing campaign on Wednesday opposing President Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to guide the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
The advert marketing campaign from Advancing American Freedom, particulars of which had been shared first with The Hill, consists of digital advertisements that can run by means of the subsequent couple of weeks within the nation’s capital as Kennedy awaits his affirmation listening to.
The advert spend additionally features a cell billboard that can journey round Capitol Hill and the March for Life, an annual anti-abortion occasion that can happen Friday on the Nationwide Mall.
The advertisements spotlight varied controversial feedback Kennedy has made.
One references his previous feedback supporting abortion entry all through being pregnant. One other cites misinformation he shared about vaccines amid a measles outbreak in American Samoa. A 3rd refers to previous feedback he made claiming the polio vaccine was linked to most cancers. And one other advert notes that Kennedy has argued vaccines trigger autism.
The advertisements additionally function a web site handle that directs viewers to a bunch the letter wrote urging senators to oppose Kennedy’s nomination.
Kennedy has but to have a affirmation listening to scheduled. His nomination has come below scrutiny largely due to his anti-vaccine rhetoric. 1000’s of medical doctors and public well being officers have signed onto letters expressing issues about Kennedy.
However some senators have expressed help to his push to get chemical substances out of meals and to scale back power illness throughout the nation, which has been wrapped within the slogan “Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy has been on Capitol Hill in current weeks holding conferences with dozens of senators. No Senate Republican has publicly mentioned they’ll vote in opposition to the nomination, and Kennedy can afford to lose three GOP votes if each Democrat opposes him.
The advert marketing campaign marks an escalation of efforts by Advancing American Freedom to oppose Kennedy’s nomination to function secretary of Well being and Human Companies.
Shortly after Trump introduced Kennedy’s nomination, Pence in a press release urged senators to reject him due to his earlier help for abortion.
The group final week despatched a letter to senators urging them to vote in opposition to confirming Kennedy due to his earlier help for abortion.
“While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time,” the group’s leaders wrote.
Kennedy has tried to reassure Republicans by saying his private views don’t matter, and that he’ll implement the entire anti-abortion insurance policies from the primary Trump administration.
Trump has repeatedly argued the problem of abortion legislation ought to be decided by particular person states, criticizing sure restrictive legal guidelines as too harsh. On the similar time, he has taken credit score for nominating three Supreme Courtroom justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Pence has been outspoken for many years about his opposition to abortion, and he has been publicly vital of Trump for what he referred to as a “retreat on the Right to Life.”
