Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed he is “not particularly happy” with President Donald Trump’s executive order boosting glyphosate production.
The Health and Human Services secretary made the remark during a Friday appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” where he addressed criticism over the president’s decision to invoke the Defense Production Act.
White House senior advisor Calley Means had already called the order “disappointing” during a speech one day earlier and noted Kennedy shared that frustration. Kennedy confirmed the sentiment on the podcast, though he also defended Trump’s reasoning.
“I’ve spent 40 years fighting pesticides. I was part of the trial team on the Monsanto case, which was the team that won three cases in a row and then got an $11 billion settlement with Monsanto, which is now Bayer … But pesticides are poison,” Kennedy said.
“They’re designed to kill all life. It’s not a good thing to have in your food … so it’s not something that I was particularly happy with. Let me put it that way mildly.”
Trump signed the order on Feb. 18, directing the federal government to safeguard domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides.
The White House argued that maintaining supply is “crucial to the national security and defense” of the United States, including food security.
Kennedy framed the issue as a decades-long policy trap that Trump inherited.
“The president didn’t create this system. He’s dealing with a problem that was created long before, over the past 60 years, when, through federal policies and subsidies and the management of farming in this country — the agricultural management — we have addicted our farmers to these pesticides, and particularly glyphosate,” Kennedy said.
“Glyphosate is the foundational pesticide of our food production system,” he added before pointing to the scale of dependence across American agriculture.
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“So 97% of corn in this country is produced with glyphosate and can’t be produced without it … You could change it. There’s organic corn producers in this country,” he said.
“It’s like 3%. 98% of soy is produced with glyphosate. If you banned glyphosate overnight, or if you got rid of it, or if somebody else cut off our supply, it would destroy the American food system.”
Kennedy’s comments landed hard because of his long history battling chemical companies.
In 2018, he won a nearly $290 million verdict against Roundup producer Monsanto on behalf of a man who claimed the weedkiller caused his cancer.
Monsanto was later acquired by Bayer. Bayer has since proposed a $7.25 billion plan to settle thousands of lawsuits tied to Roundup.
A MAHA Commission report released in May 2025 also cited concerns about glyphosate exposure.
“Some studies have raised concerns about possible links between some of these products and adverse health outcomes, especially in children, but human studies are limited,” the report stated.
“For example, a selection of research studies on a herbicide (glyphosate) have noted a range of possible health effects, ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders as well as cancers, liver inflammation and metabolic disturbances.”
Before joining Trump’s Cabinet, Kennedy attacked glyphosate in a June 2024 social media post.
He called it “one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic” and argued that Americans face heavy exposure through its use as a wheat desiccant.
“Much more widely used here than in Europe. Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide. From there it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice,” he wrote at the time.
The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. Much more widely used here than in Europe. Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide. From there it goes straight into our bodies.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) June 14, 2024
The executive order triggered backlash from some health advocates, including figures aligned with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
Fitness expert Jillian Michaels ripped the order during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”
“This is actually devastating; it is not a conspiracy theory that glyphosate is linked to cancer. There are hundreds of studies that have illustrated now it increases risk significantly for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” Michaels said.
“We also know through whistleblowers and numerous lawsuits, of which there have been over 170,000, that the chemical company knew this and tried to bury the information, tried to go after the independent researchers, created ghost studies to try to tell a different story and essentially, they now have to pay $7.25 billion the makers of glyphosate to the victims,” she added.
Michaels argued the pesticide should be removed from shelves and accused the administration of granting broad protection.
“This doesn’t just affect farmers, this is omnipresent. It’s it’s you they would probably find it in yours and my urine right now if they tested for it,” she said.
Kennedy’s balancing act unfolded just days after he appeared alongside musician Kid Rock in a high-energy fitness video.
“I’ve teamed up with @KidRock to deliver two simple messages to the American people: GET ACTIVE + EAT REAL FOOD,” Kennedy posted.
I’ve teamed up with @KidRock to deliver two simple messages to the American people: GET ACTIVE + EAT REAL FOOD. pic.twitter.com/PkK8IfkPU4
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) February 17, 2026
The video titled “Secretary Kennedy and Kid Rock’s Rock Out Workout” featured the two lifting weights, playing pickleball, posing with the American flag and sharing whole milk in a hot tub.
The imagery contrasted sharply with the pesticide fight now roiling parts of Kennedy’s health movement.
Trump’s order relies on the Defense Production Act to secure supplies of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, which the administration views as essential to food production stability.
“This doesn’t just affect farmers, this is omnipresent. It’s it’s you they would probably find it in yours and my urine right now if they tested for it,” Michaels noted.