Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, ran for president in the 2024 Democratic primaries but later ended his bid as an independent candidate. From abandonment of the race in October, he became a Trump surrogate during the now president-elect’s successful White House campaign.

TRUMP’S CABINET PICKS: WHO WAS HIRED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S ADMINISTRATION

In addition to his stance on vaccines, chemicals in food and nutrition, the new HHS nominee has made a habit of being a walking magnet for headlines. Here are some of the most notable controversies that have come to light in recent months:

He said doctors found a dead parasite in his brain.

After Kennedy reportedly suffered memory loss in 2012, a brain scan revealed a dark spot on his brain, which was then thought to be a tumor. But in a deposition discovered by the New York Timesa 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 then committed to publish your medical record if he were elected to the White House.

Click here to read the full story.

He was accused of eating a dog

Kennedy also faced backlash for a photo in a Vanity Fair report which appeared to show him eating what is believed to be a grilled dog. The then-presidential candidate rebuffed these claims and said it was a goat.

In an interview on NewsNationKennedy said: “I’m a very adventurous eater. I’ll eat anything, but I won’t eat dog.

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

Click here to read the full story.

He changed his position on abortion – then changed it again

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

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

The then-candidate later took a different stance during an appearance on The Sage Steele Showwhere he spoke out against government involvement in abortion, “even if it is a full-term abortion.” After a backlash online, he issued a clarifying statement on X, saying he meant late-term abortions should be reserved for babies with major health problems affecting their viability.

Click here to read the full story.

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

Kennedy once picked up a bear that had been killed by a motorist and left it in Central Park in New York with a bike at the top, sparking a mystery that consumed the town ten years ago.

In a video Posted on social media, Kennedy told the story to actress Roseanne Barr, saying he was on his way to a falconry excursion with friends when a woman driving in front 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.

Later, in Manhattan, Kennedy said he had to remove the carcass from his vehicle and that his friends, fueled by alcohol, had thought up the Central Park plan as a prank. Kennedy, who claims he was not drunk, said his friends thought it would be funny to pretend the bear had been hit by a bicycle.

Click here to read the full story.

He was investigated over a dead whale carcass

Kennedy was previously the subject of a federal investigation following allegations that he transported the body of a dead whale from Massachusetts in New York decades ago and kept the skull at home.

The claim was first made by her daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, in a 2012 magazine article published by Town and country.

THE the investigation was closed on October 16, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that authorities “determined that the allegations were unfounded.”

Click here to read the full story.

He started conspiracy theories around 9/11.

In a video posted on X, Kennedy said he “will not take sides 11/09.”

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

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

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

“I know strange things have happened,” he said at the time. “One of the buildings collapsed without being hit by a plane.”

Click here to read the full story.