As MAHA's Influence Grows, Critics Sound Alarms Over Eugenic Overtones
Public Health & Policy > Health Policy
What does "Make America Healthy Again" truly represent?
November 26, 2025 • 5 min read
Supporters of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) claim the movement is enhancing the U.S. food supply and combating corruption and corporate greed to foster a healthier nation. However, some critics perceive policies that marginalize vulnerable Americans and detect echoes of another movement in MAHA rhetoric—the discredited pseudoscience of eugenics.
The crux of the matter appears to hinge on the perspective of those involved. Mark Gorton, MBA, president of the MAHA Institute, a Washington-based think tank launched in May, asserts that the movement is about "reorienting America's health system to prioritize the health of the American people over corporate profits."
Gorton explained in a phone interview, "America excels at making money through big corporations and capitalism. Yet, our health system disproportionately benefits corporations at the expense of the American people. The U.S. spends twice as much on healthcare as a percentage of GDP as any other country, yet our health outcomes are significantly worse."
He continued, "This isn't due to Americans' intelligence or doctors' capabilities. It's because our health system is geared towards generating revenue for corporations, coupled with overmedicalization. One of the primary causes of poor American health is the health system itself. MAHA aims to alter this and refocus on health, not profit."
However, Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH, a former head of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, who resigned from the CDC in August, sees a darker side to MAHA. Proponents of MAHA have questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Daskalakis warns that the intentional erosion of trust in low-risk vaccines and the promotion of natural infection and unproven remedies could lead us back to a pre-vaccine era, where only the strong will survive, and many will suffer.
In his resignation letter, Daskalakis wrote, "I believe in nutrition and exercise. I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability. Eugenics is prominently featured in the rhetoric being generated and is a derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun."
Daskalakis, now a healthcare consultant, explained in an interview that those who support MAHA and oppose vaccination often believe natural infections are superior to vaccines. This implies that individuals who survive natural infections, like measles, are stronger and, therefore, more desirable. The idea that vaccines enable weak people to survive is a recurring theme in the Trump administration's health policy, which Daskalakis finds concerning.
Gorton refutes the suggestion that MAHA advocates for eugenics, calling it "completely false and utterly ridiculous." He criticizes Daskalakis, accusing him of being part of a corrupt bureaucratic system that harms Americans. Gorton argues that the CDC's revolving door system, where employees move between the agency and the pharmaceutical industry, is a classic propaganda tactic to deflect accusations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light ideas about the role of illness in society, which are now being discussed more in the context of MAHA, according to Megan Donelson, PhD, a lecturer in health rhetoric at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Disability activists have long warned that public health advice often excludes those with preexisting conditions, implying that they are expendable. This echoes social Darwinism, where survival is based on the fittest, even within a structured society.
Donelson notes that policy decisions determine who survives and who doesn't, highlighting the importance of addressing structural barriers to healthy living, particularly for minoritized communities. For instance, underprivileged minorities often face unsafe outdoor environments and lack easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables due to the absence of nearby grocery stores.
In response to this story, an HHS spokesperson acknowledged HHS Secretary Kennedy's efforts to address chronic disease factors. They emphasized the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative's focus on family-centered policy decisions and the "Make Our Children Healthy Again" report, which addresses poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity, and chronic stress in children.
Children's Health Defense, founded by Kennedy and associated with vaccine safety concerns, did not respond to requests for comment.
