In the wake of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent “brain worm” debacle, the 70-year-old lifelong Democrat has decided to double down on the whole disaster via the social media platform X.
After The New York Times uncovered records from a 2012 deposition that showed Kennedy had undergone treatment in 2010 for a parasitic worm that ate part of his brain, the increasingly flailing independent presidential candidate has had to go into overdrive to mitigate the PR disaster.
And, apparently, after his campaign assured the public he was in “robust health,” Kennedy decided that the best way to mitigate this disaster was with some humor.
Taking to X on Wednesday, Kennedy wrote, “I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate,” adding in the replies that “I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap.”
I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 8, 2024
And, to his credit, that was actually kind of funny.
With as far gone as Joe Biden is mentally, it would take quite a bit more damage from the offending parasite before Biden had a chance of getting the advantage in a debate.
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Some of the replies to Kennedy’s post seemed to agree, with users retweeting the Babylon Bee’s recent headline, wherein “Dead Worm Found In RFK Jr.’s Brain Already Polling Higher Than Biden In 11 States!” and “Even while lying in a coma, you’d win a debate against Joe effortlessly.”
The Brain Worm is polling higher than Biden in 11 States! pic.twitter.com/MfHOVS9WvT
— Chris Nelson 🇺🇸 🏝 (@ReOpenChris) May 8, 2024
Even while lying in a coma, you’d win a debate against Joe effortlessly.
— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) May 8, 2024
That said, just as many were not as amused, with users commenting “Imagine posting this at 70 years old,” and pointing out, “Yeah, you should probably refrain from eating any more worms. Between that and the heroin, you’ve done enough damage.”
Imagine posting this at 70 years old
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) May 8, 2024
Yeah, you should probably refrain from eating any more worms. Between that and the heroin, you’ve done enough damage.
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) May 8, 2024
The last reply, while clearly sarcastic, highlighted a real concern that Kennedy’s campaign has tried glossing over up until now.
As the BBC reported, much of Kennedy’s campaign against both Biden and Donald Trump has revolved around his (relative) youth and superior physical fitness when compared to the 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump.
But, as Vanity Fair explained, at the same time that Kennedy’s doctors found the parasite, he was also suffering from mercury poisoning, had been hospitalized for atrial fibrillation four times within a decade, and once contracted hepatitis C during his years addicted to heroin.
Moreover, the one health condition among this laundry list of health problems that he has talked openly about is his spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder affecting his vocal cords.
He might be in decent shape now, but all those health issues do eventually catch up with you, and they probably have lingering effects even he might not be aware of yet.
And, more relevant to this election he’s tried and failed to gain an advantage in, the now-public knowledge of these issues has taken away the one edge he had against Biden and Trump.
Again, he might be slightly younger, but he has not given voters the impression that he is much healthier than Biden, nor as robust as Trump.
And without any real edge against either candidate, how would Kennedy expect to achieve any significant victory against Trump or Biden? Especially after RFK Jr. shocked even his ultra-liberal running mate this week by declaring women should be able to have an abortion at any time throughout their pregnancy.
It’s truly amazing that these are the candidates Trump is facing — a senile old man who can barely mount a flight of steps, and 70-year-old former drug user with literal brain damage from a parasite and mercury poisoning.
It no longer seems like that much of a level playing field, now does it?
Although, considering how the campaign has gone for Kennedy lately, he at least couldn’t harm his campaign much more by ingesting a few more brain worms.
