Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the ex-Democratic presidential candidate who pivoted to an independent bid before backing President-elect Donald Trump is poised to become the next Health and Human Services Secretary.
The move raised concerns among critics due to RFK’s history of vaccine skepticism and promotion of anti-vaccine misinformation. He also has many other controversial health opinions that have been put on blast by the medical community, including his opposition to water fluoridation, his promotion of raw milk, his belief that AIDS may not be caused by HIV, and his baseless claim that COVID-19 was engineered to avoid Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
On social media, some critics are taking a lighthearted approach to react to the news, using a meme format opposing government overreach.
“Come take it RFK,” one X user wrote along with an image of Diet Coke.
“if RFK bans diet coke, i will make jan 6 look like a girl scout meeting,” quipped one person, prompting another poster to respond with an image from Jan. 6 with a “come and take it” Diet Coke sign photoshopped in.
“see you there, sister,” the user joked.
RFK, for his part, has not called for the banning of sodas like Diet Coke—a favorite beverage of Trump’s—but has argued that beneficiaries of the SNAP food assistance program should not be able to use it to purchase sodas or processed foods.
But it’s not just Diet Coke getting memed.
“Come and take it,” captioned one person of an image of a Captain Crunch clad with a Cheez-It shield bounding over an army of Sour Patch Kids.
Another person challenged RFK to ban Smucker’s Uncrustables after someone else bemoaned that he was “definitely gonna make these things illegal.”
The same joke was made about Fritos Honey BBQ Flavor Twists, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, canola oil, Skittles, and more, responding to a video of RFK Jr. highlighting chemicals in popular junk food.
On TikTok a skit featuring a fake RFK stating “I’m gonna need to confiscate this last bag of Cool Ranch Doritos” racked up 1.6 million views, with users commenting “when he takes the Oreos, we ride at dawn!” and “don’t tread on Doritos RFK.”
@daddydoinkles RFK Jr wants your Doritos #fyp #skit #rfkjr #impressions #doritos #sketchcomedy ♬ Danger – SoundAudio
Even some of RFK’s fans are getting onboard with the trend.
“Enjoying my last box of red dye 40, yellow 5, blue 1… before Uncle RFK rips them away from me…” posted one TikToker, who added in her caption that she’s kidding and excited to see RFK’s policy changes but nonetheless “will definitely miss [her] sweet Christmas tree cakes.”
@the_heather_g 🤣🤣 Just kidding…I can’t wait to see how AMAZING our NEW chemical/dye free food tastes! But l will definitely miss my sweet Christmas tree cakes! #maga #maha #glp1 #humortiktok #rfkjr ♬ take a moment to breathe. – normal the kid
“These are my favorite new videos on tiktok rn,” remarked another fan of RFK, who quipped: “RFK JR FINNA MAKE US SWOL AGAIN.”
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.
