Mother Jones; Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma; Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set out in late 2021 to hawk a conspiracy theory-drenched book attacking Anthony Fauci for his work to limit the spread of infectious diseases, he ran into a problem. Mainstream TV networks weren’t interested, due to Kennedy’s penchant for spreading falsehoods about childhood vaccinations, Covid, and other topics.
“Nobody would put him on at that time,” a person who has worked with Kennedy said. “He wasn’t newsworthy, and this was not a subject anyone would talk about.” Thwarted, Kennedy went where his conspiracy theorizing was welcome. The longtime Democrat appeared on far-right Newsmax and One America News Network. He was also welcomed on the even more extreme Infowars, which was run by veteran conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has peddled outrageous lies, including the notion that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that left 20 elementary school students and six educators dead was a hoax.
In a December 2, 2021, interview—conducted by Infowars host Kristi Leigh—Kennedy, in a rambling statement, seemed to liken mask mandates to policies imposed by “Hitler when he went into Romania and Czechoslovakia and Poland.” Kennedy also claimed he was working with unnamed prosecutors to ensure Fauci and others could be “brought to justice” for unspecified crimes. He complained that the New York Times bestseller list was falsely crediting actor Will Smith’s memoir with outselling his book. “That’s another indicia of censorship,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy did not appear again on the program, but this interview was part of an ongoing relationship between Jones and Kennedy. Jones has been heaping praise on Kennedy ever since, and Infowars has extensively promoted Kennedy’s book. Del Bigtree, a prominent anti-vax activist who served as a spokesman for Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign and who continues to advise him, has also appeared on Infowars, including a late-October appearance in which Jones interviewed him.
Kennedy’s far-right book tour preceded the famous scion’s well-known journey from Democrat to independent to McDonald’s-clutching MAGA loyalist. Along the way, Kennedy cozied up to prominent Trumpists, including Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. In July 2021, Kennedy spoke at an event held by the Christian nationalist Reawaken America, and afterwards posed with MAGA stalwarts Michael Flynn and Roger Stone. Mother Jones obtained a picture of the meeting.
These ties may feel like old news, especially after a long parade of weird and troubling revelations about Kennedy—his brainworm, his fondness for messing with animal corpses, his supposed sexting stamina, his suggestion that vaccine foes have it worse than Anne Frank, even an allegation of sexual assault. And Kennedy’s endorsement of Donald Trump, who he once had blasted as a “terrible president,” certainly overshadowed his previous dabbling with MAGA extremists.
But Trump’s nomination of Kennedy as Health and Human Services Secretary means his associations face new scrutiny. Two separate Senate panels—the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee—are planing to hold hearings on his potential appointment. Only the Finance Committee will vote on the nomination; if successful in that committee, Kennedy would then face a vote in the full Senate. Kennedy’s willingness to affiliate with fringe figures, in particular Jones, is among among the issues Democrats plan to scrutinize, according to Senate aides. GOP senators, on the other hand, are more likely to take issue with Kennedy’s past support for abortion rights.
Though Jones was unable to personally interview Kennedy in 2021 due to a scheduling problem, the person who worked with Kennedy said the conspiracy theorist was thrilled by the booking. “At the time it was a pretty big get to Alex,” the source said. “Alex was fascinated by Kennedy.”
After Kennedy launched his presidential campaign, Jones and Inforwars regularly praised him for advancing views that Jones shared. “RFK Jr. Announces Run for President – Here’s Why This Is AWESOME,” an April 2023 Infowars headline blared. “Robert F Kennedy, Andrew Tate: ‘Alex Jones Was Right,’ They’re Turning the Freakin’ Kids Gay,” Infowars reported in June 2023. That article celebrated Kennedy’s unfounded claims that chemicals commonly found in drinking water affect children’s gender and sexual orientation, calling them consistent with arguments Jones had made. The same month, Jones bragged that Kennedy’s rhetoric was starting to resemble his own. “RFK is becoming Alex Jones,” the host said.
The Infowars store, which vigorously hawks vitamin supplements and Jones’ merch, has been selling Kennedy’s Fauci book for $29.99.
Bigtree, the Kennedy ally and staffer who has reportedly been a transition adviser, has made three appearances on Infowars since December 2020. An anti-vaccine activist who once donned a yellow star at a vaccine protest, Bigtree used these Infowars appearances to plug a nonprofit he runs, the Informed Consent Action Network—which opposes various vaccines—and to spew a torrent of bizarre and bogus claims.
In a December 2020 appearance on Infowars, Bigtree predicted that vaccine recipients would soon “drop dead in the street.” He called the Covid vaccine “one of the most dangerous experiments in world history,” and exclaimed, “The world is about to eradicate itself.” Once “stupid people” wipe themselves out” with the vaccine, he predicted, “the earth is going to be ours.” Bigtree contended that vaccinated women would not be able to become pregnant, and he urged men who did get vaccinated to first “freeze your sperm” because the shots “could mutate the genes” in semen.
In the same interview, Bigtree said that anti-Covid measures were part of an attempted “communist takeover of the world.” He added, “If you ever wondered how you would behave in Nazi Germany, now you know.”
Bigtree was back on Infowars in January 2022, again comparing Covid vaccines to the Holocaust. “We don’t want to get down the road where they’re lining us up and putting us in concentration camps,” Bigtree said. He asserted that US public health officials “need this pandemic…to be deadly so they can take away all our rights.” He continued: “Our government is lying to us. They’re poisoning us. They’re no longer working for us. They’re probably working for a global agenda that has nothing to do with us.”
In an October 29, 2024, interview on Infowars with Jones, which occurred while Bigtree was working for Kennedy, Bigtree told the conspiracy-monger that he had been informed of plans that would occur on “day one” of the new Trump administration. “There are a lot of people that will have to be replaced,” Bigtree said, seemingly referring to personnel in US health agencies. He also high-fived Jones.
Since Trump picked Kennedy for HHS secretary, Bigtree has reportedly worked to help vet and interview candidates for HHS jobs. But Kennedy and Trump’s transition team recently attempted to downplay Bigtree’s role. A Kennedy spokesperson told NBC News last month that Bigtree was never part of the transition and that his “views don’t represent Kennedy or Trump’s administration.”
Bigtree did not respond to inquiries about his involvement with the transition. The Trump transition team also did not respond to questions about Bigtree’s role or Kennedy’s links to far-right figures. Jones did not respond to an inquiry sent to his attorneys.
Far-right ties have caused some flak for Kennedy. During his presidential bid last year, his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, told an interviewer that she had instructed her husband to follow rules that include not communicating with Jones. Hines then conceded that Kennedy “doesn’t always” follow her advice.
But Kennedy’s links to extremists like Jones appear to fill an important need for him. The person who worked with Kennedy said those associations reflect a combination of ideology and opportunism. “It was not his first choice,” the person said. “He ran as a Democrat and then as an independent. He didn’t run as a Republican or a libertarian. He went where he could find a home.”
