Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, ran for president in the 2024 Democratic primary but later ended his bid to run as an independent candidate. Since dropping out of the race in October, he become a Trump surrogate in the now-president-elect’s successful White House run.

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As well as his stance on vaccines, chemicals in food, and nutrition, the newly named HHS nominee has made a habit of being a walking headline magnet. Here are some of the most notable controversies that have been unearthed in recent months:

He said doctors found a dead parasite in his brain

After Kennedy reportedly experienced memory loss in 2012, a brain scan revealed a dark spot on his brain, which was then believed to be a tumor. But in a deposition uncovered by the New York Times, a doctor offered another explanation: a parasite that ate part of his brain and died.

Kennedy said in May that the parasite would not affect his fitness to be president. He later committed to releasing his medical records should he be elected to the White House.

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He was accused of eating a dog

Kennedy also faced backlash for a picture in a Vanity Fair report that appeared to show him eating what is reported to be a barbecued dog. The then-presidential candidate pushed back on those claims and said it was a goat.

In an interview on NewsNation, Kennedy said, “I’m a very adventurous eater. I’ll eat anything, but I wouldn’t eat a dog.”

Kennedy also said during a Tuesday appearance on CUOMO, “It is a goat, and you are what you eat.”

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He changed his stance on abortion — then changed it again

While on the campaign trail as a Democratic presidential hopeful, Kennedy suggested he would support a federal abortion ban after the first trimester.

His campaign quickly launched into cleanup mode and walked back his comments, releasing a statement saying Kennedy believes “it is always the woman’s right to choose” and that he “does not support legislation banning abortion.”

The then-candidate later took a different stance in an appearance on The Sage Steele Show, where he advocated against government involvement in abortion, “even if it’s full term.” After backlash online, he issued a clarifying statement on X, saying he meant that late-term abortions should be reserved for babies with major health problems that affect their viability.

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He says he left a dead bear in Central Park as a prank

Kennedy once retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York’s Central Park with a bicycle on top, sparking a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago.

In a video posted on social media, Kennedy recounts the story to actress Roseanne Barr, saying he was heading to a falconry excursion with friends when a woman driving ahead of him hit and killed the young bear with her vehicle. He says he put it in his own vehicle, intending to skin it and eat the meat, but the day got away from him.

When later in Manhattan, Kennedy said he needed to get the carcass out of his vehicle and that his friends, fueled by alcohol, came up with the Central Park plan as a prank. Kennedy, who claims he was not drunk, said his friends thought it would be funny to make it look like the bear was hit by a bicycle.

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He was investigated over a dead whale carcass

Kennedy previously faced a federal investigation over allegations that he transported the body of a dead whale from Massachusetts to New York decades ago and kept the skull in his home.

The claim was first made by his daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, in a 2012 magazine article published by Town & Country.

The investigation was closed on Oct. 16, with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson saying authorities “determined the allegations to be unfounded.”

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He floated conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11

In a video posted on X, Kennedy said he “won’t take sides on 9/11.”

“My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t,” Kennedy wrote on the social media platform. “But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency.”

In September 2023, Kennedy joined a podcast with Peter Bergen in which the pair talked about the collapse of building 7 World Trade Center caused by debris from the Twin Towers. Kennedy said he wasn’t entirely convinced by the results of the federal government’s investigation into the building’s collapse.

 “I know there’s strange things that happened,” he said at the time. “One of the buildings came down that wasn’t hit by a plane.”

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