RFK Jr. said brain 'worm' caused memory fog

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. standing in front of blue screen

Kennedy has touted his relative youth as an advantage over Biden and Trump

(Image credit: Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images)

published 9 May 2024

What happened

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that a bout of memory loss and mental fogginess in 2010 was the result of mercury poisoning and a parasitic "worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." Kennedy revealed these previously unreported health problems in a 2012 deposition, The New York Times said Wednesday.

Kennedy, 70, has "portrayed his athleticism and relative youth as an advantage" over both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the Times said. But in the 2012 deposition during divorce proceedings from his second wife, Kennedy admitted, "I have cognitive problems, clearly," including "short-term" and "longer-term memory loss," and claimed his reduced mental capacity limited his earning ability.

Kennedy's cognitive issues were "resolved more than 10 years ago" and he is in "robust physical and mental health," campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear said in a statement.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.