RFK Jr. Vehemently Denies Consuming 'Dog Meat', Deems News 'Garbage Pail Journalism'

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came under fire after Vanity Fair published an incriminating article that claimed he consumed dog meat. The controversial piece carried a throwback picture of Kennedy Jr. posing with a barbequed carcass of an animal along with an unidentified woman. The outlet stated that the environmental lawyer texted a friend who was visiting Asia, the same picture, and recommended they visit a restaurant in South Korea where the menu included dogs. 

Kennedy Jr. refuted the 'garbage' claims on X (formerly Twitter.) "Hey @VanityFair, you know when your veterinary experts call a goat a dog, and your forensic experts say a photo taken in Patagonia was taken in Korea, that you’ve joined the ranks of supermarket tabloids. Keep telling America that up is down if you want. I’ll keep talking about the fact that working families can’t afford houses or groceries because our last two presidents went on a $14 trillion debt joyride, paid for by hard-working Americans. The DNC media’s garbage pail journalism may distract us from President Biden’s cognitive deficits but it does little to elevate the national debate or reduce the price of groceries."

As per the Daily Mail, the magazine also cited that Kennedy Jr. might have contracted 'tapeworm' by eating dog meat in 2010. The political scion had once claimed that he picked up the parasite in India. In a divorce document from his late ex-wife Mary Richardson, he cited that tapeworm consumed a part of his brain, causing a "brain fog" that reduced his earning capacity. 

As per NBC News, Kennedy’s campaign press secretary, Stefanie Spear, issued a statement after The New York Times published an article about the same. It read, “Mr. Kennedy traveled extensively in Africa, South America, and Asia in his work as an environmental advocate, and in one of those locations contracted a parasite. The issue was resolved more than 10 years ago, and he is in robust physical and mental health.”

In a 2012 deposition, Kennedy Jr. stated that symptoms of memory loss and mental fogginess had been present for two years when doctors discovered an abnormal area on his brain. He asserted that a doctor informed him, "a worm that got into [his] brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He added, “I have cognitive problems...I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” Family members interviewed by Vanity Fair however remained skeptical of his assertion and argued that he was a heroin user instead for 14 years, up until the age of 29 years. This news comes just a few weeks after South Dakota Governor, Kristi Noem, wrote about shooting her months-old puppy, 'Cricket', and has since been slammed by the public and politicians alike.