RFK Jr. says he had a parasitic worm in his brain

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A doctor once suspected that a worm had literally eaten part of his brain, according to a new report from independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr The New York Times.

According to the Just, In a 2012 deposition related to the divorce proceedings against his second wife, RFK Jr. detailed a slew of health concerns that he said would diminish his future earning potential. They included an incident in which Kennedy’s doctors discovered a dark spot in one of his brain scans after he raised concerns about memory problems and impaired cognitive abilities.

Neurologists initially thought the spot was a brain tumor, but according to Kennedy, shortly before a scheduled surgery, he received a call from another doctor who believed the mass was “caused by a worm that had gotten into my brain.” Got into the brain and ate part of it then he died.”

In a phone call with the Just, Kennedy said doctors ultimately determined that the site visible in his brain scans contained the remains of a dead parasite of unknown species. Kennedy couldn’t say exactly how he became infected with the worm, but suspected it had happened during a trip to Southeast Asia at the time.

But the cognitive difficulties that led Kennedy to have his brain examined in the first place may have had an entirely different cause. According to the statement, Kennedy was diagnosed with dietary mercury poisoning caused by excessive consumption of seafood.

Kennedy described the level of mercury in his blood as more than ten times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety parameters. “I loved tuna sandwiches. I ate them all the time,” he told the Just.

Even before he ran for president, Kennedy was notorious for his long-standing conspiracies surrounding vaccines. One of Kennedy’s most notorious false claims was an alleged link between thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative commonly used in vaccines, and autism.

As a candidate, Kennedy has little chance of actually securing the presidency given the rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but is willing to act as a spoiler candidate. It is unclear whether his candidacy will benefit Biden or Trump, but Kennedy’s conspiracies have endeared him to factions of the political right that harbored vaccine skepticism surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, Kennedy baselessly claimed that vaccines were likely responsible for causing epidemics such as the Spanish flu and HIV/AIDS, and sued major news outlets for allegedly illegally boycotting right-wing conspiracy theories through an industry partnership to combat misinformation.

Throughout the race, Kennedy has purposefully presented himself as a younger, healthier alternative to the aging Biden and Trump, but despite his public persona, he himself appears to have many health concerns.