Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who previously criticized Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for supporting policies that could bring back deadly diseases, took to social media Thursday to praise Donald TrumpKennedy’s decision to nominate Kennedy as the next Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The Democratic governor said he was “thrilled” by Trump’s appointment, despite Polis saying a day before the creation Governors who protect democracy organization as a playbook for other governors to push back against the right-wing Trump administration.

“(RFK Jr.) helped us defeat vaccination mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and the FDA,” Polis continued in his op-ed. X post. Although Polis said he hopes Kennedy “leans toward personal choice of vaccines rather than bans,” the vaccine conspiracist has strongly advocated banning vaccines through his anti-vaccine organization. Protecting children’s health.

Polis’ accolades come just a few months after him ridiculed Kennedy and suggested that his vaccine skepticism could lead to “the return of measles and the return of polio.”

In his X post shared Thursday, Polis added that what he was “most optimistic about is dealing with big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health.” Appearing to acknowledge that many Americans are skeptical because of Kennedy’s long history of spreading countless conspiracies, Polis added: “Before you mock him or disagree, I want to share with you some quotes that, if watch, show why I’m excited.”

Polis went on to point out the rationale behind his public giddiness, including Kennedy’s support for lowering the cost of prescription drugs, eliminating the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition department and eliminating “pesticide-intensive” agriculture.

“He will face strong special interest opposition on these, but I look forward to working with him to make America truly healthy again,” Polis concluded. “I hope we can finally make progress on these important issues.”

Thursday evening, the governor’s office issued a statement clarifying his previous post. “Governor Polis has not changed his overall view of RFK Jr. or the governor’s previously expressed concerns about some of RFK Jr’s positions,” the statement said. His office stressed that the governor “certainly does not support actions that would lead to measles outbreaks and opposes unscientific propaganda that undermines confidence in the life-saving impact of vaccines,” adding that Polis “himself was vaccinated last week with the flu shot and the COVID. .”

Kennedy, once a renowned environmental advocate, has attracted backlash as one of the leading peddlers of the false claim that vaccines are the root cause of autism spectrum disorders. He has also falsely suggested that vaccine research is responsible for creating diseases such as AIDS, the Spanish flu, and Lyme disease.

At the beginning of this year, The New York Times reported that Kennedy said a doctor once suspected a the worm ate part of his brain. His statement was part of a 2012 deposition related to divorce proceedings against his second wife and detailed a list of health problems Kennedy claimed would diminish his future earning potential.

Following his suspension bizarre 2024 presidential campaignKennedy reached out to both Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump discuss potential work for either administration. After Harris and her aides dropped the third-party candidate, Kennedy threw her weight behind Trump and began appearing alongside him throughout his campaign.

the Kennedy brothers sprawling his decision to support Trump at the time. “We believe in Harris and Walz,” they wrote in a statement. “Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values ​​our father and family hold dear. It’s a sad ending to a sad story.”

This article was updated on November 14 at 11:16 PM ET to include a statement from the Office of Colorado Governor Jared Polis.