RFK Jr. sought to trademark MAHA for vaccine marketing, transferred to ally
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for the nation’s top health post, applied in recent months to trademark his signature slogan, “Make America Healthy Again,” to potentially market supplements, vitamins, essential oils and cryptocurrency, according to documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Kennedy in December transferred ownership of the trademark application for the slogan and its abbreviation — MAHA — to an LLC managed by Del Bigtree, who, like Kennedy, has disparaged vaccines. The documents list an assortment of items the trademark could be used for — including vaccines.
Kennedy is seeking to improve nutrition and beat back chronic disease if confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services, a pursuit that has energized forces on the right and left under a catchy moniker that is a play on President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Kennedy, who is expected to come under scrutiny for his history of anti-vaccine statements during Senate confirmation hearings this week, has vowed to disrupt a government he says is failing to improve America’s health.
As part of the confirmation process, Kennedy disclosed to the Office of Government Ethics that as of December, he had made $100,000 from MAHA — variations of the trademark also covered stickers, hats and hoodies — before transferring it “to a third-party for no compensation.”
The recipient? The LLC managed by Bigtree, the longtime anti-vaccine activist who threw the “MAHA Inaugural Ball” in January in his role leading the 501(c)(4) organization MAHA Action, which says on its website that it works to leverage grass-roots support and new media “to catalyze change and the upcoming Trump administration.”
Bigtree, former communications director for Kennedy’s campaign, is listed as a manager of MAHA Worldwide on trademark documents, with Kennedy transferring the trademark. Public records reveal little about MAHA Worldwide, other than its Wyoming mailing address.
Spokespeople for Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Kennedy has repeatedly denied he is anti-vaccine. Bigtree confirmed Wednesday to The Washington Post at Kennedy’s Senate hearing that the trademark application had been transferred to him as a manager of MAHA Worldwide LLC.
Pieter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who researches the safety of supplements, said he agreed with Kennedy’s push to understand more of what is inside processed food but that looking toward supplements to solve the nation’s health crises would not serve Kennedy’s aims. Cohen pointed out that supplements’ claims about potential benefits are not subjected to the same scrutiny as pharmaceuticals’ claims are.
Potentially adding a logo such as MAHA to supplements “seems to suggest that’s just commercializing profit, wanting to profit from the scare tactics about food and food safety,” Cohen said.
Kennedy has long promoted vitamins and supplements, gaining him fans among alternative medicine advocates who see his potential ascension in national health policy as a boon to their bottom lines. Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, also has a history of promoting supplements — including after Trump announced his intention to nominate Oz. The renowned heart surgeon turned TV star told his millions of TikTok, X and Instagram followers in November to take the herbal supplement ashwagandha to help reduce Thanksgiving stress.
The idea that “Make America Healthy Again” could be used to promote vaccines was jarring, said Peter Lurie, who leads the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and is a former FDA official, considering Kennedy’s past comments.
“On the one hand, questions are raised about the safety of vaccines, and on the other you turn around and monetize it,” he said.