(NewsNation) — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped dietary guidelines for Americans emphasize fresh foods such as whole milk, butter and red meat, but how realistic is that for working-class U.S. families?
Not very, says NewsNation’s Batya Ungar-Sargon, given the consumer price surges that could move the needle in the 2026 midterm elections.
“This is what happens when unbelievably rich, privileged people think that they are on a crusade on behalf of health,” she told “On Balance” on Wednesday. “Americans are unhealthy because they are fat, and they are fat because they are poor.”
Paradoxically, some of the Southern states where Republican President Donald Trump is popular are likely to struggle with expensive food prices or even the availability of fresh, healthy offerings. Ungar-Sargon said she thinks Trump is trying to push down grocery prices but faults administration officials including Kennedy for coming across as tone deaf.
“I hear from broke, working-class people all the time that, right now, it is actually cheaper to get fast food than it is to cook for their kids at home,” Ungar-Sargon said.
She said the federal government’s new guidelines, which caution against cheap foods with added sugar and refined carbohydrates, also reflect the high-protein fitness diets that wealthier people are able to afford.
Kennedy, known for his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, introduced the 2025-2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
