The president is said to be displeased with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Jimmy Fallon thinks he knows why.
The late-night host unpacked reports that Donald Trump, 80, scolded his Health and Human Services Secretary for not doing enough to provide “the alleged connection between vaccines and autism,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
“According to a new report, President Trump told RFK Jr. he’s disappointed in him for not accomplishing more in his role as health secretary,” Fallon began.
“Trump is mad that RFK Jr. hasn’t produced proof for all of his medical theories... but in RFK Jr.’s defense, there isn’t any. He can’t find any!”
But Fallon pointed out that the 72-year-old Kennedy’s credentials as a health secretary are dubious, to say the least. “Trump said he might have made a mistake picking a health secretary who lives on raccoon meat and ZYN pouches,” joked the Tonight host.
“RFK Jr. was like, ‘Look, no one’s eating lettuce. I thought you’d be thrilled.’ I mean, that’s something. That’s cool, right?” said Fallon.
According to the Journal, the president questioned Kennedy during a lunch at Trump’s Virginia golf course in May. Kennedy was allegedly “taken aback” when Trump accused him of getting the “yips” for not thoroughly investigating the vaccine issue. The publication further claimed that Trump is so fixated on the link between childhood vaccines and autism that he brings “nearly every conversation” back to the subject when speaking with Kennedy.
A HHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Kennedy and Trump are “aligned” on the issue at hand.
“Secretary Kennedy and President Trump are aligned in their commitment to confronting the chronic disease epidemic affecting America’s children through rigorous, gold-standard science,” the spokesperson said.
“HHS will continue to pursue evidence-based research to identify the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases, advance prevention strategies, and improve the health of the American people.”
