President Donald Trump called it a national defense issue. But Make America Healthy Again activists say he betrayed their trust by supporting glyphosate.
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Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted videos of himself working out with Kid Rock, drinking milk in a hot tub and taking a cold plunge in jeans.
With just one signature, President Donald Trump caused an uproar among his main support base, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
On February 18, President Trump issued an executive order to increase the domestic supply of glyphosate, a chemical used in agricultural herbicides such as Roundup herbicide, in the interest of national defense.
According to the order, glyphosate-based herbicides play a critical role in maintaining America’s “agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed.”
For years, glyphosate has been linked to cancer and other health problems, drawing the ire of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leader of the MAHA movement. In 2024, Mr. Kennedy, who frequently sued Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, when he was a lawyer, endorsed Mr. Trump, and Mr. Trump selected him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Now, President Trump’s executive order on herbicides could lose support among Kennedy supporters, a potentially important voting bloc heading into this fall’s elections when control of Congress is at stake.
Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of the advocacy nonprofit Moms Across America, called the executive order “a love letter to glyphosate…a deep betrayal of MAHA.”
“Trump has shattered the credibility of the MAHA movement,” she said.
Honeycutt said MAHA’s moms, many of whom are Democrats or independents, supported Trump across party lines because of his support for their cause. But they may not do it again.
Other MAHA supporters said they expected more from the president.
Activist Kelly Ryerson, known on social media as @GlyphosateGirl, said: “This administration is no different than previous administrations in terms of serving the interests of the chemical industry over human health.” “What’s different in this case is that President Trump has promised to address the human health harm caused by pesticides.”
“The Most Famously Hated Pesticide”
Ryerson said reducing exposure to pesticides is a key issue that drives MAHA voters.
“The order to expand production of the most hated pesticide under the National Defense umbrella was a shockingly ill-founded PR ploy, especially in light of the upcoming midterm elections,” she wrote in an email to USA TODAY.
President Trump’s announcement appears to contradict a promise he made with Kennedy during the campaign to tackle pesticides in food.
Honeycutt said MAHA influencers are now asking President Trump to reverse the order and invest in alternative farming practices.
The White House said President Trump and his administration remain committed to the MAHA agenda.
“The President’s executive order does not endorse any product or practice,” White House Press Secretary Khush Desai said in a statement. “This action is solely aimed at strengthening national security and ending America’s decades-long dependence on foreign imports and supply chains.”
Supporting farmers with “America First”
Bayer, along with its subsidiary Monsanto, is the sole producer of glyphosate in the United States, but American farmers also rely on generic products from China, according to Reuters.
“Crop protection is a critical tool in farmers’ toolbox to ensure they continue to produce a safe, abundant and affordable food supply,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. “If our farmers depend on other countries, especially foreign adversaries, for critical inputs, we will not be able to feed ourselves.
President Trump’s inaugural committee received a $1 million donation from Bayer, according to federal filings.
Rollins noted that farmers and ranchers are increasingly turning to alternatives, including a more conservation-based approach called regenerative agriculture, but such changes won’t happen overnight and can be costly.
The agriculture and chemical industries welcomed President Trump’s latest order under the Defense Production Act of 1950. This law allows the president to encourage industry to produce materials and goods for national defense.
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement that a strong domestic supply chain helps reduce dependence on foreign imports while “ensuring continued access to tools that contribute to the success of farmers who grow the food and fiber that American families depend on.”
A Monsanto statement attributed to Bayer spokesperson Brian Leake said President Trump’s order “reinforces the critical need for American farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools such as glyphosate. We will comply with this order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.”
Is glyphosate dangerous?
Concerns about glyphosate’s negative health effects have been raised for many years.
In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” In December, a 2000 scientific review widely cited as showing the chemical’s safety was retracted, citing conflicts of interest between the authors and Monsanto.
It was not clear whether President Trump’s order on glyphosate production was needed immediately.
“This is a manufactured emergency,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, founding director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill National and Global Health Law Institute. Gostin said he was more worried about the potential danger to the food supply from the chemicals, which he “doesn’t fully understand,” than the national security implications.
Glyphosate has been the subject of litigation for years, and Bayer recently offered $7.25 billion to settle a cancer lawsuit. In 2018, Kennedy, then an environmental lawyer, helped win a $289 million settlement against Monsanto.
Bayer stands behind the safety of glyphosate-based products, saying that glyphosate-based products have been widely approved by regulatory authorities and have been used worldwide for 50 years.
There is already a rift between Trump and MAHA
Activist Ryerson said the relationship between the administration and MAHA was already unstable.
Among other issues, she cited President Trump’s attorney general’s decision in December to support efforts to limit Monsanto’s liability for glyphosate.
In January, MAHA activists helped kill a Congressional funding bill that could have shielded major chemical companies from liability over pesticides.
MAHA influencers are also trying to oust Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the use of herbicides containing dicamba, another controversial pesticide.
MAHA influencers say they do not blame President Kennedy for the Trump administration’s actions.
Mamas Across America’s Honeycutt noted that Kennedy’s role in the lawsuit against Monsanto shows his clear support for MAHA’s cause. Instead, she said Trump needs better advisers and “courage and unpredictability.”
Still, the government’s support for glyphosate disrespects the MAHA movement, said Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the advocacy nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
“MAHA supporters were promised reform, but instead they have been treated like a bunch of convenient idiots by MAGA ever since Kennedy joined Trump’s campaign,” Cook said in a statement.
Contributed by Zachary Schermele and Reuters
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
