Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing scrutiny after he was photographed dining on a McDonald’s meal and drinking a Coca-Cola with President-elect Donald Trump while flying on his “Trump Force One” jet over the weekend.
In the photo that’s been making the rounds on X, formerly called Twitter, Kennedy — Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — is seen sharing a greasy smorgasbord of processed foods and sugary sodas with Trump, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Donald Trump Jr.
In the snapshot posted Sunday by Trump Jr. on the social media platform, Kennedy, who spoke of the importance of staying in shape during his presidential campaign this year, dons a concerned look on his face as he holds up a hamburger.
“Make America Healthy Again starts tomorrow,” Trump Jr. captioned the post alongside three American flag emojis.
The uproar over the photo comes just days after Trump vowed in a Nov. 14 post on X that Kennedy would “help make America great and healthy again” by protecting the country from “harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and food additives.”
If confirmed as secretary of HHS, Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, could soon oversee multiple government agencies — including the Food and Drug Administration.
Users on X criticized Kennedy for dining on the processed foods in the viral photo after he repeatedly doubled down on his claims that the food industry is “mass poisoning” the American people.
Others pointed out that his meal included McDonald’s fries, which reportedly contain seed oils — a toxic ingredient he has said he wants to eliminate from America’s food supply.
In a video posted to his Instagram account on Oct. 25, Kennedy called seed oils “one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,” adding that they contribute to “body-wide inflammation.”
Although Trump has had a long love for McDonald’s — and even served food at one during a staged event while on the campaign trail — Kennedy has pushed for healthy eating and promised to address the high rates of chronic disease in the United States.
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Kennedy’s reps didn’t immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
