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Kennedy Defends Remarks at Michigan Rally
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused legacy media outlets of stripping context from his remarks at a Michigan campaign rally, arguing in a lengthy social media post that his criticism of Islamism was being misrepresented as an attack on Arabs and Muslims.
The comments followed Kennedy’s appearance at a rally for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers. In the roughly 3,700-word post, Kennedy said outlets omitted critical context from his speech, "presumably to bestow plausibility on their accusations that my statements were racist and Islamophobic."
Kennedy wrote, "Criticizing Islamism is neither Islamophobic nor racist." He defined Islamism as a "violent corruption of mainstream Islam" and distinguished it from Islam as a religion. He cited historical Muslim contributions to mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and the arts to support his distinction.
During his rally speech, Kennedy explicitly rejected equating criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood with hostility toward Muslims. He stated that talking about the Muslim Brotherhood is not Islamophobia.
Media Reports and Headlines
The Daily Wire reported that Kennedy’s social media post named reporters from the Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and MS NOW.
The New York Times ran a report under the headline "Kennedy Makes Bigoted Remarks About Arabs at Michigan Campaign Event." The article characterized his remarks as bigoted and challenged his claim that Arabs no longer produced award-winning work.
According to the Daily Wire, the New York Times article quoted Kennedy’s praise of Islam’s historical achievements but omitted his statement that talking about the Muslim Brotherhood is not Islamophobia.
Kennedy blamed Islamism, rather than classical Islam, for intellectual and scholastic enfeeblement in Muslim nations. He cited data stating that as of 2025, no Muslim had received the Nobel Prize in medicine or economics. He further noted that only four living Muslim scientists in Western democracies had received the Nobel Prize in chemistry or physics.
Accusations Against Senate Opponent
In addition to defending his remarks on Islamism, Kennedy and Rogers made accusations regarding Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Kennedy cited an investigation documenting Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s "two decades of intensive affiliations with the Muslim Brotherhood" and its legacy front groups. These claims were part of the broader narrative presented during the Michigan campaign event.
