Elite media cannot stop handing it to RFK Jr.
By 
How many times have we seen articles and columns like this about the guy making measles great again and destroying cancer research out of pure superstition?
It's striking how quickly political journalists drop the "savvy" act when it comes to the Trump administration. www.theatlantic.com/health/archi…
[image or embed]— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Sending poor people a box of fresh food a) isn't even a real proposal b) is a logistical nightmare c) has no evidence of efficacy d) makes no sense while cutting food stamps and medicaid Stop laundering these people's dumb ideas into good ones!— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Exactly. If Michelle Obama had proposed something like this the right (and the Atlantic) would have had a field day with how inefficient and paternalistic it is
[image or embed]— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 9:20 AM
If RFK Jr. had any interest in regulating big pharma or helping americans eat better or reducing chronic illness he would not have gutted the agencies he is in charge of. *Every* story about his alleged policy ideas should lead with this extremely elementary reality.
[image or embed]— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) Aug 21, 2025 at 9:28 AM
The article even details how badly a quarter-assed attempt to provide food boxes during COVID went. Has the second Trump administration become more competent, or increased the administrative capacity of the state, or become less corrupt? And not only does it not mention that Republicans have savaged SNAP funding, it does this:
Most nutrition experts I spoke with for this story were much more supportive of MAHA boxes being sent to Americans in addition to food stamps than as a replacement for them. Exactly how the care packages would fit into other food-assistance programs isn’t yet clear.
I think Matthew Yglesias’ response to Josh Chafetz’ exercise in wishful thinking was about right, even if Brad DeLong’s is more nuanced. I’d like to note, though, that Chafetz is selling himself short. You see, wishes are totally free. It’s like when you can’t decide whether to daydream about being a famous Hollywood star or having amazing magical powers. Why not — be a famous Hollywood star with amazing magical powers! Along these lines, John has developed an infallible way to improve any public policy wishes. You just wish for the thing, plus, wish that everyone would have their own pony! So, in Chafetz’ case, he should not only wish that Bush would say a lot of good things about democracy-building and fighting terrorism in a speech written for him by a smart person, he should also wish that Bush should actually mean the things he says and enact policies which reflect this, and he should wish that everyone gets a pony. See?
And it’s not even hypothetical — Trump has already attacked SNAP! This is clearly not going to be a top-off in addition to the fact that it has zero chance of being executed well!
There are at least two things going on in the embarrassing series of “you gotta hand it to RFK Jr.’s vacuous slogan while downplaying or ignoring his inevitably world-historically disastrous tenure as HHS chief.” One is that being a failson in one of America’s most overrated dynasty still carries weight with a lot of people. And second, RFK Jr.’s belief that health is primarily a matter of individual choice and responsibility appeals to the prejudices of elite reporters, especially class prejudices.