‘I don’t know how he’s alive’: RFK Jr. says Trump is ‘pumping himself full of poison’

Donald Trump’s fondness for fast food has been public knowledge for years. What’s new is how bluntly his own health secretary is now talking about it, and how that candour sits alongside a wider, far more controversial overhaul of US health policy.

Speaking on the Katie Miller Podcast, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered a surprisingly frank assessment of the president’s eating habits, describing a diet that appears to clash directly with the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda he is pushing inside the federal government.

‘He eats really bad food’

The exchange began casually. Katie Miller, the podcast host and wife of US Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, posed a simple question: “Who has the most unhinged eating habits?”

Kennedy’s answer was immediate. “The President…,” he said, prompting laughter.

He then elaborated, without softening his words. “The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food which is McDonalds, KFC and Diet Coke. He drinks the Diet Coke all the time. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is…”

Kennedy went on to explain that Trump sees fast food as a kind of safety measure while travelling. “He says that the only time he eats junk food is when he’s on the road. And he honestly eats food from big corporations because he trusts them and doesn’t want to get sick when he’s on the road. But when he’s at Mar a Lago or at the White House he’s eating really good food.”

Still, Kennedy admitted that spending time with Trump on the campaign trail paints a different picture. “If you travel with him you get the idea he’s just pumping himself full of poison all day long.”

The comments quickly circulated online, largely because they put Kennedy’s long-standing opposition to processed food in direct contrast with the president’s own preferences. Trump’s affection for McDonald’s and Diet Coke has been documented repeatedly over the years by outlets including The New York Times and Politico.

A health agenda under scrutiny

The remarks come at a moment when Kennedy’s influence inside the Department of Health and Human Services is under intense scrutiny. In the first year of Trump’s second term, Kennedy has moved aggressively to turn his Make America Healthy Again movement into policy.

Since taking office in February, he has overseen sweeping changes across HHS, including cutting thousands of jobs and freezing or cancelling billions of dollars in scientific research funding, according to reporting by Reuters and The Washington Post.

Kennedy has reframed the government’s stance on issues such as seed oils, fluoride and Tylenol as part of his campaign against chronic disease. He has also continued to promote theories about vaccines that many scientists consider discredited.

While some of the department’s moves, including efforts to promote healthier diets, physical activity and lower prescription drug prices, have drawn bipartisan praise, many doctors and public health experts have raised serious concerns about the speed and direction of the changes.

During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy told lawmakers he would not undermine vaccine science. Less than a year later, those assurances are being questioned. In May, he announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a move experts criticised for lacking new supporting data.

The following month, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of a CDC vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with a new slate that included several vaccine sceptics, a decision that drew alarm from across the public health community.