(The Hill) – Fewer than half of Americans in a new poll say they trust President Trump or his health-related nominees to make recommendations on the nation’s pressing health care issues.
The latest KFF survey, published Tuesday, finds 42 percent of respondents say they have either a great deal or fair amount of trust in Trump to make the right recommendations when it comes to health issues.
A similar 43 percent say the same about Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Another 43 percent said the same about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The survey results reveal a significant partisan divide. The vast majority of Republicans have high confidence in Trump and his nominees — 84 percent in the president, 83 percent in Oz, and 81 percent in Kennedy, the poll found.
Few Democrats echoed the sentiment, with just 14 percent having either a great deal or fair amount of trust in Oz to tackle health issues. Another 7 percent said the same about Kennedy and Trump, the data shows.
Among independents, 45 percent have either a great deal or fair amount of confidence in Kennedy, while 37 percent say the same about Oz, and 36 percent say they are confident in Trump on health issues, according to the survey.
The survey results were revealed ahead of Kennedy’s scheduled confirmation hearings this week. He is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday.
Kennedy has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle. Liberals point to his longtime advocacy against vaccines and his role as the founder of the prominent anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense.
On the conservative side, the group Advancing American Freedom (AAF), created by former Vice President Mike Pence, launched a six-figure ad campaign Wednesday opposing Kennedy’s nomination.
While the ads highlight controversial comments made by Kennedy across a variety of issues, AAF has zeroed in on the former independent presidential candidate’s past support for abortion.
The KFF survey was conducted from Jan. 7-14 among 1,310 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
