Trump’s State of the Union speech made no mention of Make America Healthy Again
February 25, 2026
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Trump’s State of the Union Address Makes No Mention of Make America Healthy Again
The US president largely stayed away from his administration’s health agenda on Tuesday, amid a broader campaign to downplay anti-vaccine efforts ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump, as Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) look on, delivers his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Staff/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union address Tuesday touched on topics ranging from immigration and the economy to military strikes against Iran and crime. But one pillar of his administration’s second-term agenda was conspicuously missing: “Make America Healthy,” or MAHA.
Supporters of the MAHA movement, led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., championed the removal of ultra-processed ingredients and additives from foods and overhauled the National Dietary Guidelines. Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services and its affiliated agencies sought to revamp drug development and endorsed, without evidence, vaccine skepticism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its vaccination schedule earlier this year to reduce the number of diseases for which it recommends that children be routinely vaccinated from ages 17 to 11.
These moves have not been without controversy. Although childhood vaccination rates have declined worldwide since the COVID pandemic, routine childhood vaccines remain very popular. Doctors and other medical experts appear to be ignoring the CDC’s recent changes to the vaccination schedule. The absence of MAHA in Trump’s speech on Tuesday and the recent upheaval in HHS leadership suggest that the Trump administration may downplay the importance of MAHA and any anti-vaccine efforts ahead of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
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In his one hour and 48 minute speech, Trump spent less than five minutes on health care. The president mentioned TrumpRx, his flagship prescription drug pricing program, and his desire to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment more affordable. He did not mention the MAHA movement even once.
This omission is notable, given the prominent role MAHA played in Trump’s presidential campaign and Kennedy’s radical actions during his first year as health secretary. But cracks have appeared within the MAHA movement in recent months. In addition to opposing changes to the vaccination schedule, some MAHA supporters took issue with Kennedy’s support for Trump’s recent executive order promoting the production of the weedkiller glyphosate, which public health experts have deemed a “probable carcinogen.”
MAHA was not entirely eclipsed, however. On Wednesday, Trump’s chosen surgeon general, Casey Means, appeared before a Senate committee for a confirmation hearing. Means is a prominent advocate for MAHA and has previously criticized the food and pharmaceutical industries for downplaying the extent to which a healthy diet can help prevent disease, a core belief of the MAHA movement.
Before Trump’s speech, some Republicans had expressed fear of suffering significant election losses in the midterms. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will move away from the more controversial aspects of Kennedy’s agenda and refocus on areas such as nutrition that are widely popular.
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