Michael Mann 
CNN
—
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made light of a decade-old incident in which he drove a dead bear cub carcass from upstate New York to New York City and placed it in Central Park, joking, “maybe that’s where I got my brain worm,” referring to a past medical abnormality he has said was caused by a parasitic worm in his brain.
Kennedy made the comment in an interview with The New Yorker as part of an expansive profile of his life and presidential campaign published on Monday. Kennedy revealed he drove the dead bear cub to Central Park approximately 10 years ago in a video on social media on Sunday as part of an effort to get ahead of the magazine’s story.
The bear incident is the latest in a series of bizarre episodes from Kennedy’s life that have been revealed over the course of his 2024 presidential campaign.
The New Yorker article includes an image of Kennedy sticking his hand in the dead bear’s mouth, pantomiming as if the bear is biting his hand. The image echoes a photo published by Vanity Fair last month of Kennedy pretending to eat a cooked animal carcass. Vanity Fair reported Kennedy sent the photo to a friend while suggesting they try eating dog. The publication consulted with a veterinarian who said the carcass in the photo appeared to be a dog.
When asked about the bear incident, he told the magazine, “Maybe that’s where I got my brain worm,” referencing a 2010 incident in which Kennedy experienced short-term memory loss and “brain fog” he said was caused by a parasitic worm that entered his brain and died.
Kennedy has often referenced the brain worm episode for comedic effect at campaign events and in interviews since it was first reported by The New York Times in May. He has previously said he believes he contracted the parasite from eating undercooked meat.
The magazine also spoke to Kennedy’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, who shared details of his meeting with former President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month. Fox Kennedy told the magazine Trump suggested to Kennedy he drop out of the race in exchange for a position in his administration if he wins.
“They said, ‘You know, we know that you take more from us than you take from Biden,’ she told the magazine, and said Trump and his team asked Kennedy, ‘Is there something that you would want to do?’” Fox Kennedy reiterated that Kennedy is open to serving in a future Trump administration, and called the idea of Kennedy potentially being nominated as secretary of Health and Human Services “an incredibly interesting one.”
Fox Kennedy also told the magazine she believes Kennedy has clear paths to victory in November and said the campaign will focus on Democrats in traditionally Republican states and Republicans in traditionally Democratic states. She also told the New Yorker she believes Kennedy can become president by way of a contingent election if no candidate receives 270 electoral votes.
The wide-ranging article – which also details Kennedy’s history with drug addiction, his previous marriages and infidelity, and his relationship to his family – comes at a moment in which the Kennedy campaign is struggling to find its footing as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris appear to be solidifying their support in the final months before November’s election. In a Quinnipiac national poll of registered voters released last month, Kennedy received 8% support, trailing Trump’s 44% and President Joe Biden, who was still running at the time of the poll, at 39%.
Kennedy’s campaign also continues to struggle with fundraising after pulling in $5.3 million in June and spending more than $6.2 million, according to federal campaign finance records. Last month, the campaign established a joint fundraising committee with the Libertarian Party to help boost fundraising.
Kennedy has scaled back his campaign events in recent weeks as his campaign says it’s focused on meeting ballot access deadlines in states around the country. He hasn’t hosted an in-person campaign event in over a month. Kennedy is expected to appear in court this week in New York, where he’ll testify in defense of his campaign’s ballot petition in the state.
