'Should I get a witch doctor?' Trump taps RFK Jr for health secretary and the jokes fly thick and fast

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: It looks like Robert F Kennedy Jr has been caught up in yet another whirlwind, and this time it’s courtesy of Donald Trump.

The president-elect has tapped him for a pretty big role as secretary of Health and Human Services. And let’s just say, this choice didn’t exactly sit well with critics on the other side of the aisle.

In classic Trumpian fashion, the former president took to Truth Social on Thursday, November 14, to share his big decision.

Trump names RFK Jr health czar

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump, 78, posted.

He went on to say, “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.”

Trump really laid it on thick, promising that Kennedy Jr would “restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Now, let’s rewind a bit. Remember when Kennedy Jr was running for president himself? Yeah, that didn’t last long. He decided to drop his campaign earlier this year and joined forces with Trump instead.

Of course, Trump's decision has sparked a whole lot of chatter. Kennedy Jr isn’t exactly known for keeping his opinions to himself, and he’s voiced some pretty controversial ideas over the years.

According to OK! magazine, he’s floated theories suggesting that Covid-19 might have been “engineered” to target specific races, he’s linked vaccines to autism, and even implied that certain prescription meds could be behind mass shootings. Oh, and he’s reportedly thinking about banning fluoride from drinking water.

Social media backlash against Trump and RFK Jr

When Trump announced Kennedy Jr's new role, the backlash on social media was rather swift.

Ron Filipkowski — editor of Meidas Touch — took to X with his take: “This is the only reason why RFK Jr is being put in charge of public health in the U.S. — Trump was desperate to get him to drop out and endorse him.”

He didn’t stop there, adding, “That’s why American health is in the hands of a kooky conspiracy theorist with a background even worse than [Matt] Gaetz.”

Filipkowski had more to say, joking, “I think the key to surviving 4 years with RFK Jr as our Health Czar is for nobody to get sick.”

Several others piled on to the criticism on X.

One person sarcastically commented, “Making brain worms great again," referring to Kennedy's claim that a parasite ate part of his brain.

"It’s always transactional with Trump. the most unserious administration of all time & it’s not even close," another chimed in.

"We will become a Third World Country without Vaccines, diseases will run rampant, especially with children!" a third user warned.

Someone else joked, "He will be kicked to [the] curb once Trump realizes RFK Jr. is coming for his McDonald’s and KFC."

"This is like when Putin puts the chef in charge of a military-quid pro quo government. All those people that think character doesn’t matter will find out why it does," read a comment.

"Should I get a witch doctor? Stock for those Instagram shamans are pumping while vaccine makers are dropping," another remarked.

Just recently, he suggested that fast food chains ditch seed oils in favor of cooking with beef fat for those beloved French fries. Then, during an appearance on 'The Joe Polish Show' podcast, he threw some serious shade at Trump’s diet and called it “really, like, bad.”

He elaborated, “Campaign food is always bad, but the food that goes onto that airplane is like just poison. You have a choice between—you don’t have the choice, you’re either given KFC or Big Macs. That’s when you’re lucky and then the rest of the stuff I consider kind of inedible.”

And the cherry on top? Kennedy Jr added: “And then he [drinks] Diet Coke. I was with Dana White the other day… He has never seen Trump drink a glass of water. Never.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online