The former presidential candidate may take health and fitness seriously, but the man he just endorsed does not.
Will Donald Trump “make America heathy again”? Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s apparent assent to this proposition helped motivate him to semi-suspend his presidential campaign last Friday and endorse Trump. Now, one need not look hard to find fault in the Kennedys generally or in RFK Jr. specifically. But RFK Jr.’s focus on health, especially that of children, should not be dismissed. For charity’s sake, let us pass by some of the more controversial paths this focus has led him down and give him his due: Improving Americans’ health is a worthwhile goal. But personal differences between RFK Jr. and Trump in this area make the former’s endorsement of the latter perplexing.
RFK Jr. is right that obesity is a huge problem in America today. In the speech he gave announcing the end of his campaign, he put it bluntly: “One hundred and twenty years ago, when somebody was obese, they were sent to the circus. There were case reports about them. Obesity is almost unknown. In Japan, the childhood obesity rate is 3 percent compared to our 50 percent.” It is not irrational to worry about this problem as well as related maladies and the conditions that have helped produce it.
There is also something to his assertion that one of the conditions which has helped produce this epidemic is the prevalence of junk food. In the same speech, RFK Jr. blamed “ultra-processed foods,” which “consist primarily of processed sugar, ultra-processed grains, and seed oils” for Americans’ deteriorating health. If it was ever a fringe concern to worry about such items, it isn’t anymore. And it’s not just food: RFK Jr. has also urged Americans to avoid Coke, at least as made in this country, as it contains high-fructose corn syrup, which is also sound advice.
And give the man credit: He appears to talk the talk and walk the walk. To stay healthy, RFK Jr. not only avoids these substances but also goes to the gym and hikes daily. And it looks like it’s working: He seems to be in excellent shape for a 70-year-old man. His emphasis on health and fitness is welcome.
But does this emphasis align with his support for Trump? Trump’s supporters deserve respect, as does his potential to disrupt the Left’s designs. But as a health role model, Trump leaves a bit to be desired. (Much of the following information draws from mainstream-media reports, so you may take it with a grain of salt, but remember: Too much is bad for you.) He has lost weight recently. But his 2019 physical classified him as medically obese after he had narrowly missed this classification in the prior year’s physical.
Trump is also a big fan of fast food. Reports vary concerning the quantity of Trump’s preferred McDonald’s order, but there is a consensus that he enjoys eating there. Supposedly his favorite items are the Big Mac, the Filet-o-Fish, and the chocolate shake. His overall fondness for such meals is no secret: He “prepared” a fast-food feast for the national-champion Clemson Tigers football team in 2019, and he celebrated his recovery from Covid with McDonald’s. All of this would likely fall afoul of RFK Jr.’s recommendations.
As for drinks: Trump seems to prefer Diet Coke. A New York Times report alleged that, at least at one point, he was drinking a dozen a day. (Another report claims he had a “Diet Coke button” in the Oval Office.) Though Trump has never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke, he at least avoids the high-fructose-corn-syrup problem by preferring that “garbage” to regular. But he still falls short of RFK Jr. standards, since the beverage contains aspartame, a chemical sweetener of which RFK Jr. is wary.
The biggest difference between the two, however, may be exercise. In contrast with RFK Jr., Trump believes that exercise is a waste of energy. And he is quite literal in this belief: He thinks that humans have a finite number of heartbeats and that exertion merely expends them, hastening one’s end. He once told an executive working for him who was training for a triathlon that it would cause him to die young. (This executive was alive as of May, when he told CNN that a guilty verdict in Trump’s hush-money trial would physically strain him.) Trump considers his standing in front of a crowd a form of physical exertion, though his “primary form of exercise” is golf. RFK Jr.’s workout regimen is clearly more rigorous.
It is true that Trump seems to be an energetic 78-year-old man. He certainly exceeds the vitality of Joe Biden, who at one point was contesting Trump for the presidency despite his obvious lack of presidential fitness. Trump credits his “health, stamina and strength” to “good genes.” Maybe so. But if that’s the case, he provides a poor example for those who might not be so fortunate.
It is also true that RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump related to policy. At the rally where RFK Jr. and Trump spoke together, for example, Trump promised to establish a panel that would work with RFK Jr. “to investigate what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility, and many more.” Perhaps Trump could once again be an imperfect vessel for causes worthier than he is.
Even at a time when many have accepted that a politician’s political behavior can diverge productively from his character, however, it can be useful to look at what he prioritizes in his personal life to ascertain what he cares about politically. Doing so in this case reveals that while RFK Jr. may take health and fitness seriously (even if he may do so in ways one can dispute), Trump does not. This should make one wonder about RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump and about the latter’s willingness to “make America healthy again.”