RFK Jr. Sparks Outrage with ‘Deep State Rant’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the man Trump tapped to head the nation’s health agencies, delivered a jaw-dropping speech Friday that left Food and Drug Administration staffers visibly shaken—and in some cases, literally walking out of the room.

Over the course of a 40-minute tirade at FDA headquarters, Kennedy unleashed a string of conspiratorial claims, bizarre historical references, and an offensive disability slur—all while skirting the elephant in the room: the mass layoffs he greenlit just weeks ago.

According to multiple reports, including Politico, Kennedy—who has long trafficked in anti-vaccine rhetoric—used the outdated and hurtful term “r—-ded” while reminiscing about his time volunteering at Wassaic State School, a now-shuttered institution for people with developmental disabilities. His comments stunned the crowd, prompting several employees to leave mid-speech.

“I spent 200 hours at Wassaic home for the r—-ded when I was in high school,” Kennedy said, adding that he “never saw anybody with autism,” a comment that seemed to question the validity of modern autism diagnoses. It’s the kind of statement that wouldn’t be out of place on a fringe podcast, yet it came from the mouth of America’s top health official.

As if the slur wasn’t enough, Kennedy veered deeper into MAGA territory by declaring, “The Deep State is real,” invoking one of Trumpworld’s most beloved conspiracy theories. He claimed that a “shadowy network” of elites—George Soros and Bill Gates included—is manipulating global systems to undermine American sovereignty and Donald Trump’s political ambitions.

Kennedy attempted to explain the concept: “It’s not just Soros and Gates in a room plotting the destruction of humanity,” he said, suggesting it’s more subtle—yet equally sinister. For FDA employees expecting a serious policy address, the speech felt more like a QAnon livestream than a cabinet-level briefing.

While he briefly mentioned the sweeping layoffs—10,000 HHS employees, including 3,500 at the FDA—Kennedy quickly pivoted to talking about CIA mind control experiments from the 1960s. Yes, really.

He cited the infamous Milgram experiment on obedience to authority, apparently drawing a connection between that and federal whistleblowers. “We need integrity and transparency,” he said—this, from the man overseeing a purge of career scientists and public health experts.

The blowback was swift.

“This was supposed to be about public health, not conspiracy cosplay,” said one FDA scientist who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation. “Instead, we got Trump’s anti-vax pit bull spouting Joe Rogan talking points.”

Critics say Kennedy’s inflammatory remarks only further alienate career staff already demoralized by politically driven layoffs and growing mistrust in the agency’s leadership. Many are also alarmed by Kennedy’s cozy relationship with right-wing influencers, who in recent months have been trying to normalize the same slur he used in his speech.

An HHS spokesperson tried to spin the mess, claiming Kennedy was “telling the truth that many Americans already know” and calling his remarks “leadership.” But the reality is stark: under Trump’s return to power, science is once again taking a backseat to spectacle—and this time, the consequences could be deadly.

As the U.S. faces its worst measles outbreak in three decades, the man charged with managing the crisis appears more focused on paranoid fantasies and right-wing applause than protecting public health.

And for many inside the FDA, that’s more than just offensive—it’s dangerous.