Dem
47
GOP
53
MAHA is very close to MAGA in terms of orthography, but not so close (anymore) politically. When Robert Kennedy Jr. agreed to stop dumping dead bears and support Donald Trump in 2024 in return for a cabinet post, his MAHA Moms followed him, thinking that Kennedy would bring a focus on healthy food to the administration. Instead, they got a measles epidemic. Now they feel betrayed, and there is a genuine rift between the MAHA Moms and the administration. And it is not due to vaccines.
No, it is due to a chemical that is hard to detect and harder to pronounce: the biocide glyphosate, which has neurotoxic effects and probably causes cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide used in the controversial weed killer, Roundup. To say it is widely used misses the mark. It is the most-used weed killer in history. U.S. farmers spray 300 million pounds of it on corn, soybeans, and other crops each year. The moms don't want it in their kids' food.
Roundup works because farmers can buy patented genetically modified seeds for crops that are resistant to Roundup and spray Roundup liberally on the fields. It kills all the other plants except the genetically modified crop. When farmers buy the genetically modified seeds, they have to sign an agreement stating that they won't use the seeds from this year's crop to plant next year, forcing them to buy new seeds from the Monsanto division of Bayer, the German chemical giant, every year. Roundup is available for sale in the U.S. despite its health dangers because farmers love it and the EPA doesn't want to take them on for political reasons.
This has come to a head now because last week Donald Trump signed an XO promoting the use of glyphosate. The XO invokes the Defense Production Act to spur production of glyphosate and limits the liability of glyphosate's makers. Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University, said: "Invoking the Defense Production Act to spur the domestic production of glyphosate is a gross abuse of presidential authority. There is scant evidence that the United States' agricultural sector and its ability to ensure a stable food supply is at risk."
Trump signed the XO to placate farmers who use Roundup, and also to try to keep food costs down. After all, many people would prefer cheap, but poisonous, food to expensive, but healthy, food. But not the MAHA Moms, who are not with the program. The official cover story was that the order is really intended to increase the domestic production of phosphorus, which is a component of glyphosate but also used in munitions.
One of the MAHA Moms, health and wellness podcaster for Turning Point USA Alex Clark, said: "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." Across the country, many other women expressed similar feelings. Healthy eating activist Vani Hari, known as "Food Babe," who has millions of followers, said: "There is a level of anger and frustration like I've never witnessed before."
Some Democrats see potential here. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said: "The message from this Administration is clear: Chemical company profits are more important than your health." And it is a foreign chemical company, to boot. The whole story is a bit wonky but could be summarized to the voters as: "Trump is encouraging farmers to use a toxic herbicide that causes cancer and brain disorders in children so a German chemical company can make bigger profits." Unfortunately, to make it fit on a bumper sticker, it has to be in 2-point type.
A fundamental dynamic of American politics, particularly presidential politics, is that candidates overpromise and underdeliver. Trump definitely overpromises more aggressively than any president in U.S. history. And there's a pretty good case to be made that he also underdelivers more than any of his predecessors. This is a prime reason that midterms are usually bad for presidents' parties, as people who are disappointed tend to stay home on Election Day (or even to flip to the other side). The MAHA folks are a particular problem, because they are basically single-issue voters, and Trump has just betrayed them on their single issue. (V)