Every politician faces a moment when they must choose between their dearest-held principles and their career.
For Robert F Kennedy Jr it came in the form of a Big Mac, served to him on board Donald Trump’s private plane.
The scion of the Kennedy family has spent decades railing against McDonald’s as the epitome of the fast-food turning America into a nation of obese, unhappy people.
He had referred to the food on Mr Trump’s private jet, Trump Force One, as “poison” just days before he was tapped to become America’s next health secretary.
But on Saturday night he was pictured with a forced grin on his face, apparently about to tuck into a burger, fries and a Coca-Cola.
Donald Trump Jr, seated to his right, joked after the image was broadcast around the world that Mr Kennedy Jr’s mission to “make America healthy again” would have to wait until “tomorrow”.
Online commentators revelled in the sight of yet another of Mr Trump’s inner circle being forced to swallow their principles to keep the boss happy.
Mr Trump himself often goes without breakfast or lunch before tucking into a dinner of McDonald’s and fizzy drinks.
If anything, the president-elect, pictured beaming next to Elon Musk, had the healthier meal, opting for a fillet-o-fish.
On Monday, RFK Jr complained about the Trump team’s campaign food on the Joe Polish podcast.
“Campaign food is always bad, but the food that goes onto [Trump Force One] is, like, just poison,” he said.
“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.”
Stocks in processed food industry drop
After Mr Trump made an appearance at McDonald’s during the campaign in October, Mr Kennedy Jr said the fast-food chain should cook in beef fat rather than seed oils.
“That was good for you. Your body needs that, it makes you healthy,” he told Fox News. “Why aren’t we making it with tallow fat again?”
After he was tapped to become health secretary on Thursday, stocks in the processed food industry dropped by nearly three per cent, the most since October 2023.
On X, the social media platform owned by Mr Musk, commenters went to town on RFK Jr’s dietary conversion.
“Your greatest sin is that you’ve betrayed yourself for nothing,” one wrote, quoting Fyodor Dostoevsky.
“RFK’s initiation into the group is to eat every single thing on McDonald’s menu,” another added, while many suggested feeding RFK Jr the food he loathes was the latest of Mr Trump’s “power moves”.
Margo Martin, Donald Trump’s deputy communications chief, posted the original image on X with the caption “walking by the cool kid’s table”.
For Mr Trump, the meal followed a rapturous reception at the Ultimate Fighting Championship in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The president-elect was led through the arena by Dana White, the UFC’s president, followed by Mr Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, Kid Rock and RFK Jr. Ms Gabbard, a former Democrat, has been chosen as the next director of national intelligence.
Asked whether he too would have a role in Mr Trump’s administration, the hard-living musician Kid Rock said he had been appointed “head of the liquor cabinet”.
At the event, Mr Trump led the crowd in chants of “USA! USA!” and made a beeline to embrace podcast host Joe Rogan.
Jon Jones, widely considered to be the greatest UFC fighter of all time, paid tribute to the president-elect seconds after retaining his heavyweight champion status by performing the Republican’s trademark “hip-punching” dance and handing Mr Trump his title belt.
Mike Johnson, the bespectacled speaker of the House of Representatives, posted pictures of himself at ringside in quite a different milieu to what he is used to in the Capitol.
On X, he was keen to stress that the party had followed a “long day of work and planning at Mar-a-Lago”.
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Dan Scavino Jr.
Rogan, whose podcast has become a political lightning rod for young men, had expressed support for RJK Jr’s independent campaign for the presidency.
“I love that guy. I love what he’s trying to do with health,” Rogan explained, before Mr Kennedy Jr dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Trump.
In his new role, Mr Kennedy Jr has pledged to remove fluoride from the water supply, blaming it for causing “low IQ” and thyroid problems. The chemical was added years ago to strengthen Americans’ teeth.
Stocks in vaccine-makers also fell on his appointment, given his long-standing claims that there is “no such thing” as a safe one.
Whether such views go the same way as his opposition to the Big Mac, of course, remains to be seen.
