In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s publicity stunt at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday, social media users have one question: How is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) coping?
After dropping out of the presidential race in August, RFK Jr., best known for spreading misinformation regarding vaccines, endorsed Trump and agreed to tackle chronic health issues in the country alongside the former president.
As part of his push to improve the nation’s health, RFK Jr. frequently targeted America’s food supply and diet.
But he has been put in an awkward position due to Trump’s long-time love of McDonald’s, leading him to partially defend fast food on Monday as “part of American culture.”
“People who enjoy a burger with fries on a night out aren’t to blame, and Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils,” he wrote.
Across social media, though, many are framing RFK Jr. as having a meltdown over Trump’s recent visit to the Golden Arches.
Memes of RFK Jr. crying hysterically and reacting with outrage to Trump serving up burgers and french fries cooked in seed oils flooded sites such as X.
Others saw Trump’s display as ironic, given his pledge to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) with the assistance of RFK Jr.
“The utter irony of Trump propping up RFK Jr to get rid of junk food for a healthy nation initiative then turns around and goes to McDonald’s to serve Americans junk food,” X user @tinaturnacorner wrote.
For many, it was just another in a long line of candidates abandoning long-held principles in the face of Trump.
However, one part of RFK’s message did resonate: The suggestion that fries be cooked in beef tallow (rendered beef fat) instead of seed oils like McDonald’s used to do.
“Trump would make RFK Jr. head of the USDA and he’d force McDonald’s to bring back the tallow,” @EricNasher17 said. “I am now a single issue voter.”
In reality, excess consumption of fried foods, whether cooked in tallow or seed oil, is known to be unhealthy. As with most foods, moderation is key. And studies regularly show that seed oils aren’t the boogeyman many think they are.
Either way, RFK Jr., assuming Trump wins the election, will undoubtedly have his work cut out for him given the former president’s insatiable love for fast food.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
