Kathrine Frich
His team likely had good reason to panic.
Everyone has that friend who brags about a cast-iron stomach.
They dive into obscure delicacies and refuse normal menus. But when a top government official boasts about eating food off the pavement, things get strange.
A very open palate
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently sat down to promote his new television project. Titled “The Real Food Show,” the program aims to push American families toward cooking healthier meals at home.
During a chat with USA Today reporter Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, the conversation shifted to his diet. The politician did not hold back.
“I will literally eat anything,” Kennedy said when asked to name his most exotic meal. “I don’t have a gag reflex, let me put it like that.”
He explained his love for culinary experimentation. He told the reporter he tries different items while travelling, including “even stuff I find on the street, street vendors.”
Stopping the story
According to HuffPost, Kennedy made a similar boast in 2024. Back then, he claimed to eat almost anything, drawing the line only at humans, monkeys, and dogs.
Following up on the street food comment, Ramaswamy pushed further. She asked if he had ever consumed anything that others might consider gross.
The health secretary paused. He looked away from the journalist and glanced toward his staff standing off camera.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Kennedy started. A moment later, he smiled and laughed along with the interviewer. “Yeah, I’m getting a signal not to answer that question,” he confessed.
A strange history
His team likely had good reason to panic. Kennedy has faced years of bizarre headlines regarding his interactions with animal remains.
The official previously admitted to dumping a dead bear in Central Park. He originally planned to store its meat in his refrigerator, and later claimed he collects roadkill to feed his pet ravens.
Other family tales remain legendary. HuffPost noted that his daughter claimed he once sawed the head off a beached whale, though federal agencies ruled the allegation unfounded.
Another biographer unearthed a 2001 diary entry describing how Kennedy cut a dead raccoon to study it. His political handlers clearly prefer he stick to normal recipes now.
Sources: HuffPost, USA Today
