RFK Jr: A worm ate part of my brain and then died
Third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a startling medial secret, according to The New York Times: Parts of his brain were apparently eaten by a parasitic worm.
"In 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was experiencing memory loss and mental fogginess so severe that a friend grew concerned he might have a brain tumor. Mr. Kennedy said he consulted several of the country’s top neurologists, many of whom had either treated or spoken to his uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, before his death the previous year of brain cancer," reported Susanne Craig. "Several doctors noticed a dark spot on the younger Mr. Kennedy’s brain scans and concluded that he had a tumor, he said in a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times."
But it turned out it wasn't a tumor, according to Kennedy's deposition — a doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital contacted him just as he was set to travel to receive treatment to tell him his illness in fact “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.”
According to the report, Kennedy suffers from a number of other impairments, including atrial fibrillation and mercury poisoning related to the consumption of fish.
READ MORE: Governor Kristi Noem didn’t have to shoot her dog — she wanted to
This stands in contrast to Kennedy's efforts on the campaign trail to portray himself as fitter and healthier than either of the two main candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Craig noted: "He has gone to lengths to appear hale, skiing with a professional snowboarder and with an Olympic gold medalist who called him a 'ripper' as they raced down the mountain. A camera crew was at his side while he lifted weights, shirtless, at an outdoor gym in Venice Beach."
Kennedy, who originally ran in the Democratic primary before switching to run an independent campaign, is best known for his conspiracy theories about vaccination, sometimes laced with antisemitic claims about diseases being "ethnically targeted" to spare Jews. He has also praised the January 6 defendants and promoted false claims that none of them were armed during their attack on the Capitol. Although he hails from the famous Kennedy dynasty, the rest of his family broadly backs Biden over him.
Trump allies had originally hoped he could be a spoiler to help them win in battleground states; however, some are now concerned he could actually pull more votes from Trump than from Biden. Polls are currently unclear on which candidate loses more votes to him.