Glyphosate Order Splits MAHA Moms as Kennedy Defends Trump
President Trump on Wednesday used the Defense Production Act to push increased domestic production of phosphorous and glyphosate, a move that has stunned members of the MAHA movement and threatens to fracture the brief alliance between the president and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “Women feel like they were lied to, that MAHA movement is a sham, ” said Alex Clark, a health and wellness podcaster allied with the president, who added, “How am I supposed to rally these women to vote red in the midterms? How can we win their trust back? I am unsure if we can. ”
Glyphosate labeled 'probably carcinogenic' and tied to lawsuits
The executive order is aimed at boosting domestic supplies of phosphorous for certain munitions and glyphosate, the widely used weedkiller marketed as Roundup. The order stated that “ensuring an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides is thus crucial to the national security and defense, including food-supply security. ” The International Agency for Research on Cancer has deemed glyphosate “probably carcinogenic to humans, ” and Health Secretary Kennedy previously helped secure a $289 million jury award in 2018 against Roundup’s maker, Monsanto, now owned by Bayer.
MAHA leaders voice betrayal as midterms approach
Leaders and rank-and-file members of the Make America Healthy Again movement expressed anger and disbelief on Thursday. Vani Hari, a healthy eating activist who has advised the administration on food policy, said, “Secretary Kennedy has done everything he said he’s going to do. ” But she also described the reaction among supporters: “There is a level of anger and frustration like I’ve never witnessed before. ” On social media, some followers aimed criticism at Mr. Kennedy as well: “This begs the question why didn’t sec Kennedy have a say and stop it, ” one commenter wrote, and another asked, “Where is RFK Jr. ?”
Officials defend the order; consultation remains unclear
White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the directive by saying it was “not an endorsement of any product or practice. ” It is unclear whether the secretary was consulted before the order was issued; the White House and a spokesman for Mr. Kennedy would not say. In the text of the order, officials tied glyphosate production to both defense needs and food supply considerations, a link that has intensified the backlash among health-focused supporters who had shifted toward the president after Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement.
The dispute has immediate political stakes: members of the MAHA movement who abandoned the Democratic Party to back Mr. Trump now say the order risks turning the “MAHA-Trump marriage into a divorce, ” a break that proponents fear could affect votes as the midterms approach. “How am I supposed to rally these women to vote red in the midterms?” Alex Clark asked, framing the decision as a potential political setback for the administration.
Administration officials have defended the order as strengthening defense readiness and food supply, and Mr. Kennedy issued a statement saying the directive would do so. For now, the controversy remains centered on the order’s mix of national-security language and chemicals long targeted by public-health litigants; the next major political milestone referenced by participants is the midterm elections, which activists and allies say will test whether the MAHA base stays aligned with the president.
