JD Vance Courts Make America Healthy Again at Washington Summit

At a Washington DC summit of the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement, Republican presidential hopeful JD Vance appeared alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Vance used the platform to promote his anti-fraud agenda, criticize undocumented immigrants receiving Medicare, and mock political rival Marco Rubio. The gathering featured corporate sponsors such as UnitedHealth, Walmart and Anthropic, and offered paid speaker slots to companies contributing $300,000.

The Guardian

Maha, an offshoot of the Make America Great Again coalition, originally united environmental, nutrition and anti-vaccine activists. Over time, the movement has attracted corporate and political actors, creating tension between its grassroots base and business interests. The summit’s “pay-to-play” structure—where sponsors received private dinners with Kennedy and CMS administrator Mehmet Oz—has been described by observers as a departure from the movement’s founding principles.

The Guardian

• Approximately 32 % of Americans reportedly consult AI chatbots for medical advice, though such tools are inaccurate about one-quarter of the time.

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• A new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey shows only 23 % of Americans view Robert Kennedy favorably.

The Guardian

He called for “cutting that shit out” and demanded honesty about benefits to illegal aliens. Kennedy, while praising AI firms like OpenAI, warned that reliance on expert mandates could be challenged by AI-generated medical opinions, suggesting AI could “free us from medical tyranny.”

The Guardian

• “We’ve found close to $250bn in fraud just since I’ve been leading the anti-fraud task force,” — Maha. But Vance

The Guardian

• “Cut that shit out and be honest about your intentions. It’s about giving benefits to illegal aliens,” — Maha. But Vance

The Guardian

• “Bobby and I are on a text chain with a bunch of the cabinet secretaries, where we’re basically beating social media to the memes,” — Maha. But Vance

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• “The Maha summit, I thought, was a giant conflict of interest,” — Art Caplan, professor emeritus at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine

The Guardian

• “Normally, you don’t get a chance to cozy up to FDA officials. That’s troubling,” — Art Caplan, professor emeritus at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine

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• “If he can get half of what Trump got, even if there’s a split, he’s doing well.” — Art Caplan, professor emeritus at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine

The Guardian