Progressives: Men Can Breastfeed—But They Better Not Talk About It
The Left's inclusivity ends where the Trump administration's support for breastfeeding begins.
Many issues divide the American public these days, but one would hope that helping a mother in need would not be one of them. Sadly, the opposite appears to be true, as a recent announcement that should have received bipartisan praise was marred by petty politics.
At a Dec. 8 press conference at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the rollout of their joint initiative to "Make Travel Family Friendly Again."
The secretaries announced that $1 billion in grant funding will go toward increasing family-friendly resources at airports across America. Eligible projects may include enhancing healthy food options or installing gym equipment, children's play areas, or lactation pods for nursing mothers, among other improvements.
While this news was celebrated by many—including conservative commentator and mother Isabel Brown—some progressives became incensed by comments Kennedy made in favor of breastfeeding.
"All of the ingenuity of corporate America, all the resources, all the resourcefulness, has not produced an infant formula that is superior in nutrition and all the qualities that we want to the infant formula that God made, which is the infant formula in a mother's breast," he said at the press conference.
HHS encourages mothers to breastfeed for "as long as possible, because there is no better food for your brain, for your gut microbiome, for your physical growth, for your emotional growth, than what's in God-given breast milk," Kennedy added.
A man encouraging breastfeeding? Cue the Leftist outrage.
Hypocrisy Abounds
The Seneca Project, a Democrat super PAC, shared a video of Kennedy's remarks on X, titling the clip, "Man who has never breast fed shames mothers who can't."
Progressive health care activist group Protect Our Care likewise accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of attempting to "demonize baby formula and scare and shame moms" who feed their babies with it. And The New Republic opined: "Is there anything more Republican than a group of cis men talking about women's health?"
This clip is titled: “Man who has never breast fed shames mothers who can’t” #rfkjr #robertfkenendyjr #breastfeeding #breastmilk pic.twitter.com/H33XWdZwXk
— The Seneca Project (@senecaprojectus) December 9, 2025
Yet Naomi Risch, a health policy researcher, said Kennedy's comments should not be controversial.
"All he said is that breast milk is more nutritious than formula—which is correct—and he talked about putting more lactation rooms in airports," Risch told Restoration News. "That's it."
The benefits of breastfeeding are widely accepted by medical experts. Johns Hopkins recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of life, noting that the nutrients and fats in breast milk are best for a baby's brain growth, nervous system development, and eyesight, and for preventing infections and other serious health conditions.
The accuracy of Kennedy's statements aside, Risch said "any reasonable person" would commend efforts to help stressed-out mothers in airports. "I just don't understand how anything that makes travel more convenient, or that makes taking care of your child more convenient, could ever be seen as a negative thing."
As for the suggestion that men shouldn't talk about breastfeeding, Risch said she thinks the complaints have more to do with who Kennedy and Duffy work for than their sex. "If they said exactly the same thing but were part of a Democratic administration, I think women would be praising them and thanking them for talking about a really important issue."
The sexism is rather ironic given the Left's insistence that biological men can breastfeed, or rather, "chestfeed." Pink News, a London-based LGBT outlet, even asserts that male breast milk "can, at the very least, be just as nutritious as that produced by the birthing parent," or what those of us still attached to reality would call the child's mother.
NEW: LGBTQ+ outlet "Pink News" is claiming trans women can breastfeed, and that it's "safe and healthy"
— Blast Bulletin (@BlastBulletin) May 28, 2024
Pink News wildly states that the milk trans women can produce is AT LEAST "just as nutritious as that produced by the birthing parent" pic.twitter.com/6tScs3tHfv
Risch also pointed out the hypocrisy of progressives who "want to get rid of all taboos in society" until the taboo view being expressed is one they disagree with.
Lactationgate, it would seem, is nothing more than another byproduct of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Supporting Mothers
Risch, though not yet a mother, hopes to be one someday. She said that if she were nursing an infant, she would be "thrilled" to find private spaces for doing so at her local airport.
"As an Orthodox Jewish woman who observes the laws of modesty to some extent, I think that a lactation room is crucial," she said.
Health policy researcher Naomi Risch. (Courtesy of Naomi Risch)
Yet even for women who aren't religious, Risch added, breastfeeding in front of strangers may be uncomfortable. "So, I think it's really crucial that all mothers, regardless of their comfort level, have a place where they feel safe and comfortable breastfeeding."
Trump administration officials are looking to provide that safe and comfortable place, and they deserve praise, not criticism, for their efforts.
(READ MORE: A Beautiful Choice: One Woman's Full-Circle Adoption Story)
