Robert Kennedy Jr. accused of making bigoted remarks about Arabs at Michigan campaign event

What This is

• At a Republican campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Arabs “don’t produce science” and do not win major prizes while campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
• He also claimed Arabs do not “produce” literature and blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for what he called “stagnant societies.”
• Multiple reports and fact-checks said his statements were inaccurate and racially biased, citing Arab and Arab-descended winners of Nobel, Fields, and Wolf prizes.
• Examples cited as contradicting Kennedy’s claim include Mohamed ElBaradei, Ahmed Zewail, Naguib Mahfouz, Tawakkol Karman, and Omar M. Yaghi.
• Kennedy also sought to link Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Rogers’s opponent, to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed has disavowed.
• The remarks drew condemnation from civil-rights and Arab American groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, with some calling for him to be fired.
• The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Why This Matters

• When a senior government official uses ethnic stereotypes, it can normalize prejudice in campaign politics.
• Rhetoric about a candidate’s religion or ethnicity can divert attention from policy differences, especially in a close race.
• How the White House and Congress respond helps set expectations for basic accuracy and conduct by appointees.
• False claims about scientific achievements by the nation’s health secretary can undermine confidence in his judgment and leadership.