The overriding rule of medicine is: First, do no harm.

We’re confident that installing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of health and human services violates this rule.

Perhaps he has vowed to focus exclusively on areas where he can clearly help – inspiring Americans to embrace healthier diets and more exercise, etc.

But . . .

We spoke with RFK Jr. in May 2023, when he challenged President Biden for the Democratic nomination.

As we noted at the time, he is an independent thinker who sees through a lot of nonsense, a sharp critic of some of Biden’s worst policies, who saw “the Democratic Party lose its way most acutely in response to” Donald Trump’s first election.

But the insights that impressed us had nothing to do with health.

When it came to that subject, his views were a staggering spaghetti of what we can only call twisted conspiracy theories, and not just about vaccines.

“Neocons” are responsible for America’s policy problems. “Pesticides, cell phones, ultrasounds” could be causing a resurgence of Tourette syndrome and peanut allergies.

He told us emphatically that all the chronic health problems in America in the 1980s started in one year, when a dozen bad things happened.

Convincing to the gullible, conspiracy-hungry crowd on Twitter, but not to the rest of us.

In fact, we came out thinking he was crazy about a lot of fronts.

And even if he makes valid points as a critic, it is difficult to see how he is the man who can lead HHS and its 83,000 employees to practical solutions.

The relationship between Big Pharma and the FBI is very dysfunctional, for example – but pharmaceutical companies do a lot of good and employ a lot of people.

Putting the sector – or even just the stock sector – into a tailspin would be a disaster in itself.

His views also put him at odds with Trump’s goal of supporting energy and farmers, as RFK Jr. wants to ban fracking. And many pesticides and fertilizers.

Watch: The HHS chief oversees more than 100 programs across 11 operating divisions; Keeping the trains running is quite a job in itself.

A radical, lengthy and confused transition ordered by a man like RFK Jr., who will use his high office to spout his controversial beliefs, leaves a lot of room for things to go wrong – and for people to be injured or even get dead.

All that, of course, if Senate RFK Jr. actually confirms, which in itself will be a challenge: the Republicans only have three votes left.

Donald Trump won on his promises to fix the economy, borders and rising global disorder; his team needs to focus on making changes that one fronts – don’t waste energy defending crazy theories or trying to shut RFK Jr.’s mouth. to control.

We fear that the worm he claims ate part of his brain several years ago is contagious and that there has been an outbreak at Mar-a-Lago.