Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in a deposition taken more than a decade ago that a worm ate part of his brain before dying inside his head.
RFK Jr., now 70, made the bizarre admission during his 2012 divorce proceeding, detailing “cognitive problems” he initially feared were a brain tumor — only for a second doctor to tell him the dark spot on his scans were a dead parasite, according to the New York Times.
Before getting a second opinion, Kennedy had been set to undergo surgery at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina by the same doctor who operated on his uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who died of brain cancer in 2009.
However, a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital called Kennedy while he was packing for the trip and said he believed the abnormality “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” the candidate recalled in the transcribed interview.
Kennedy said he did not know when he may have contracted the parasite, but suggested it might have been during an earlier trip to South Asia. Doctors interviewed by the Times suggested it was likely a pork tapeworm larva, which have been known to cause seizures, headaches, and dizziness when they start to die.
RFK Jr. also said during the 2012 deposition that he suffered from mercury poisoning after eating too many tuna fish sandwiches, which one doctor told the Times was probably the actual cause of Kennedy’s neurological issues.
“I have cognitive problems, clearly,” the son of the late attorney general and senator from New York said at the time. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.”
Kennedy said he suffered from “severe brain fog” and had trouble retrieving words around the same time that his mercury levels were 10 times what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.
The vaccine-skeptic politician said he was certain his diet was causing the issue.
“I loved tuna fish sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” he said.
At the time he disclosed his health issues, Kennedy was in the process of divorcing his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, and was arguing that his earning power had been reduced by his medical problems.
The longtime environmental lawyer added that he made several changes following the two health scares, including getting more sleep, traveling less and consuming less fish.
The septuagenarian has used his relative youth to make the case for his insurgent candidacy against former President Donald Trump, 77, and President Biden, 81.
When asked if his health issues would impact his ability to serve as president, a spokesperson for the Kennedy campaign told the Times, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”
Wednesday evening, Kennedy tweeted a joking offer to “eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate.”
“I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap,” he added on X.
The longshot candidate has suffered from a variety of health issues over the years, including atrial fibrillation, a common heartbeat abnormality that increases the risk of stroke or heart failure.
Kennedy also said in the deposition that he had been treated for hepatitis C caused by heroin use in his youth.
