A clip showing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appearing to look stone faced while President Donald Trump promoted a new range of “Trump Was Right About Everything” baseball caps on Tuesday has gone viral on social media, receiving over 640,000 views.
Newsweek contacted Kennedy for comment via an email sent to the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Earlier this month, Kennedy, a noted environmental campaigner and vaccine skeptic, was confirmed as the new U.S. secretary of health and human services.
Kennedy previously ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, before announcing he would stand as an independent then later dropping out and endorsing Trump.
What To Know
On Tuesday, independent journalist Aaron Rupar shared a 35-second clip on X, formerly Twitter, showing Trump addressing reporters in the White House, with Kennedy standing behind him along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
get a load of the look on RFK Jr’s face as Trump hawks his new merch in the Oval Office pic.twitter.com/DNKSfe25sL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 25, 2025
In the video, Trump holds up a red baseball cap emblazoned with the slogan “Trump Was Right About Everything,” whilst Kennedy looks on with an unemotive expression.
Rupar wrote: “get a load of the look on RFK Jr’s face as Trump hawks his new merch in the Oval Office.”
The post went viral on X being shared more than 1,200 times, and accumulating over 640,000 views.
In the footage, Trump comments: “Look, see that? Trump was right about everything. Just came in. This was sent in by a fan, I said I think we should make some of them right.”
Referring to a journalist, he asks: “You want one?”
The reporter answers “I’ll pass,” at which point Trump says: “Are you allowed to take one?”
After the journalist says they aren’t, Trump adds: “He’ll consider it I know he will, sort of a stiff…he’s sort of a stiff guy. He’ll take other things but not a free hat.”
By contrast to Kennedy, Lutnick is visibly enthusiastic. After the reporter refuses to take a hat, he says: “Always say yes to the president, always say yes to the president.”
After Trump’s presidential election victory in November, a photograph of Kennedy eating McDonalds with the then president-elect, his eldest son and Elon Musk on a private aircraft went viral, sparking a wave of memes.
One X user shared the photograph along with the caption: “Making the new gang member do drugs to make sure he’s not an undercover cop.”
Kennedy had vowed to combat America’s obesity epidemic as part of a bid to “Make America Healthy Again,” and has previously been highly critical of the “harmful chemicals” and “food additives” he says are in American food.
What People Are Saying
Responding to Rupar’s post, one X user wrote: “RFK Jr should be highly embarrassed. He’ll be stuck with these images circulating for perpetuity. Shameful.”
A second commented: “You’re a stiff if, as a journalist you don’t accept gifts from those you cover.”
A third said Kennedy “thinks the merchandise is cheesy.”
What Happens Next
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 73.6 percent of Americans aged 20 and older are overweight, including 40.3 percent who are obese.
Kennedy has been particularly critical of the use widespread use of vegetable oils in American cooking, claiming people are being “unknowingly poisoned” as a result. In January, Steak ‘n Shake announced it was switching from cooking its fries in vegetable oil to beef tallow.
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