NBA Star Rudy Gobert Praises RFK Jr Nomination For Trump Health Secretary

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has endorsed President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In a brief message posted on X Thursday evening, the NBA player voiced his support for Trump’s selection.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, #27, shoots over Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, #23, during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

“Let’s go @RobertKennedyJr,” the message read.

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The president-elect, who won back the presidency just last week, announced his pick on Thursday. Kennedy, who initially entered the race for the presidency as a democrat before switching to an independent run and eventually dropping out to endorse Trump’s campaign, thanked the president-elect with a post on X.

“We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic,” he wrote. “I look forward to working with the more than 80,000 employees at HHS to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.”

Kennedy pledged to “clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science.”

Former President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Kennedy’s selection was met with both a wave of criticism and praise largely connected to stance on vaccines.

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. Called Kennedy’s nomination “f—ing insane,” slamming him as a “vaccine denier” and a “tin foil hat conspiracy theorist.” Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, however, praised the selection, adding that Kennedy “helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado.”

Many users on social media called Gobert out over the post. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year was famously one of the first players in the NBA known to have contracted COVID-19 in 2020.