McDonald's feast undercuts Trump health pledge

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was photographed sharing a McDonald’s meal with Trump just days after pledging to “make America healthy again.”

The two were joined by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., aboard Trump’s private jet en route to a UFC event in New York on Saturday. Donald Jr. later shared the photo online with the tongue-in-cheek caption, “Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW,” as the group enjoyed McDonald’s fare.

Kennedy, part of the iconic Democratic political dynasty, had campaigned alongside Trump leading up to the November 5 election, vowing to tackle issues such as processed food and public health. Announcing Kennedy’s nomination last Thursday, Trump declared, “Americans have suffered under the industrial food complex and pharmaceutical giants for far too long.”

Social media users highlighted Kennedy’s apparent unease in the photo, where he cautiously held a burger box while seated before fries and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Known for his outspoken views on health and nutrition, the 70-year-old anti-vaccine advocate has long criticized the nation’s reliance on high-sugar, high-fat, and heavily processed foods, which he blames for the obesity crisis.

In a recent podcast, Kennedy expressed his disdain for Trump’s eating habits, describing the food served on the president-elect’s plane as “poison.” “You’re stuck with KFC or Big Macs,” he told the Joe Polish podcast, adding that Trump’s diet was “really bad.”

Trump’s love for fast food and Diet Coke is no secret, with the president-elect even briefly working at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania during his campaign, where he told employees, “I love salt!”

Kennedy’s nomination as health secretary will require Senate confirmation, but some Republicans have raised concerns about his suitability for the role due to his controversial views.