History of Make America Healthy Again in Timeline

Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) is a populist slogan and political movement linked to Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. MAHA, which echoes Trump's "Make America Great Again," centers on public health. The movement gained traction after Kennedy suspended his independent presidential bid in August 2024 and endorsed Trump. Kennedy was then made Secretary of Health and Human Services in Trump's second term.

August 2024: Kennedy Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump

In August 2024, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement gained attention after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. Kennedy later became the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

2024: Social Media Sentiment Shift

In 2024, social media sentiment started overwhelmingly positive, but experienced a substantial decline following Kennedy's nomination (2024-11-14), subsequent confirmation (2025-02-13), and the introduction of MAHA-aligned legislation in Texas (2025-03-03), ultimately reaching a point at which opposition outweighed support on social media.

2024: Bipartisan Support for MAHA Proposals

In late 2024, proposals of the MAHA movement received some early bipartisan support, despite objections to Kennedy's views on vaccines.

January 2025: Survey Shows Mixed Support for MAHA

A January 2025 survey indicated that 30% of Americans supported the MAHA movement and 42% opposed it, with higher support among conservatives. The movement faced criticism from scientists and medical professionals for promoting misinformation.

January 2025: FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3

Following the FDA's ban on Red dye No. 3 in January 2025, Kennedy announced that the FDA would focus on removing petroleum-based artificial food dyes from the American food supply by 2026.

January 2025: Survey Shows Mixed Support for Kennedy's Health Agenda

In January 2025, a survey showed that 30 percent of Americans supported Kennedy's health agenda, while 42 percent disapproved. MAHA has been criticized for mixing healthy living promotion with public health conspiracy theories.

February 13, 2025: President Trump Establishes MAHA Commission by Executive Order

On February 13, 2025, President Trump established the MAHA Commission via Executive Order 14212, chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The commission was tasked with examining the prevalence of prescription medications, researching childhood diseases, and assessing childhood vaccine schedules.

February 2025: Trump Establishes the MAHA Commission

In February 2025, President Trump established the MAHA Commission, chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to investigate psychiatric and anti-obesity medication, childhood diseases, and mental disorders.

May 2025: Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report

In May 2025 the "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy" report outlined specific actions to implement findings of the MAHA report and it echoed long-held conspiracy theories and misinformation.

May 2025: DNC Criticizes MAHA

In May 2025, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) criticized MAHA for citing sources that did not exist and referred to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a conspiracy theorist.

May 2025: MAHA Assessment Cites Child Health Concerns

In May 2025, the MAHA Assessment cited poor diet, environmental chemicals, lack of exercise, stress, and overmedicalization as major child health concerns, while questioning vaccines, water fluoridation, and other public health measures.

May 2025: CDC Stops Recommending COVID-19 Vaccine

In May 2025, under Kennedy's leadership, the CDC stopped recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for children and pregnant women and HHS halted a clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine pill. Increased anti-vaccine rhetoric by Kennedy and MAHA was tied to increased outbreaks of measles and vaccine-preventable diseases.

May 22, 2025: MAHA Assessment Report Released

On May 22, 2025, the MAHA Assessment report was released, identifying poor diet, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity, stress, and overmedicalization as key causes of health problems in children. The report's analysis also revealed questionable sources and mischaracterizations of data.

September 9, 2025: HHS Releases "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy" Report

On September 9, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services released the "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy" report. This strategy, a part of EO 14212, listed specific actions based on the MAHA report from May 2025. The report omitted leading causes of childhood death and echoed conspiracy theories about Wi-Fi and 5G and also cast doubt on the safety of water fluoridation and childhood vaccines.

September 2025: Department of Health Releases "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy"

In September 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services released the "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy," which proposed food regulation, SNAP restrictions on processed foods, removal of artificial dyes, and scrutiny of pesticides. It drew attention for omitting leading causes of childhood death and promoting conspiracy theories about vaccines, Wi-Fi, and 5G.

October 2025: Anti-Science and Anti-Vaccine Bills Introduced Nationwide

In October 2025, an investigation found over 420 anti-science and anti-vaccine bills introduced in statehouses nationwide, pushed by groups attached to Kennedy, MAHA, and promoted by individuals within the Trump administration. The report noted that cases of whooping cough and measles were making comebacks as vaccination rates fell as a result of anti-vaccine rhetoric pushed by MAHA and Kennedy.

2025: SNAP Restrictions Proposed

In 2025, Kennedy and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins supported preventing SNAP recipients from using benefits for "processed foods and candy". Following this, several states submitted waivers to restrict SNAP usage for such items.

2025: Kennedy Announces Phasing Out Animal Testing

In late 2025, Kennedy announced that phasing out animal testing would be a component of the MAHA movement, advocating for a shift toward alternative research methods.

2026: Democrats Plan Attacks Based on Anti-Vaccine Stance

By late 2025, it was reported that increasing measles outbreaks and Kennedy and MAHA's anti-vaccine views were polling poorly with the public, with an October KFF poll showing 40% of parents who identified with MAHA did not trust Kennedy to give reliable information on vaccines, compared to 75% of non-MAHA supporting parents. Efforts by Democratic politicians to paint Kennedy as a "boogeyman" and use MAHA's views against Republicans in the 2026 elections, especially after such attacks appeared to contribute to the Democratic victory during the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election.