Trump’s Pesticide and Vaccine Moves Spur MAHA Backlash Ahead of Midterms

A display shows the new inverted food pyramid announced by the Department of Health and Human Services.Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

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By Nancy Cook

February 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC

Updated on

February 27, 2026 at 4:22 PM UTC

An aggressive White House push on health policies — which advisers to President Donald Trump say is meant to rally potential “Make America Healthy Again” voters — risks stalling out as key parts of that coalition grow frustrated.

The latest blow was Trump’s executive order to protect domestic production of glyphosate-based herbicides, a move backed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite his long history of criticizing the chemicals.