Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s surprising shift from liberal environmental champion to far-right Trump ally raises questions about the growing divide in green advocacy.
In short:
- Kennedy, a former environmental attorney and NRDC veteran, now leads a faction of far-right environmentalists advocating for clean air, water and soil while rejecting mainstream climate science.
- This “para-environmentalism” emphasizes distrust of institutions, with a focus on local issues like pollution and regenerative farming over carbon reduction.
- The movement reveals deeper ideological fractures, complicating efforts to unify environmental goals under a Trump administration favoring deregulation.
Key quote:
"The left environmental movement literally got infiltrated and usurped by climate change. They’re so hyperfocused on that that they’re no longer focusing on the environment.”
— Reinette Senum, blogger, former mayor of Nevada City, California and a self-identified MAHA environmentalist
Why this matters:
Kennedy's pivot indicates a larger shift in the environmental movement, and the curious perception by some that left-wing environmentalism has largely abandoned environmental health issues not related to climate change. It's a potent reminder of how environmentalism can be reshaped — and weaponized — by political movements, and begs the question: Where do we go from here as the Trump administration lays out its deregulatory agenda?
Read more:
2024 election: Two radically different visions for environment, health.
