Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Undergoes Examination Due to Whale Carcass

At a campaign event for former President Donald J. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed that he was being investigated for his handling of a whale carcass decades ago. Kennedy, who supported Trump last month following the end of his independent presidential bid, informed the crowd on Saturday evening in Glendale, Arizona, about a letter from a national fisheries institute. The letter indicated that an investigation was ongoing against him concerning the collection of a whale specimen 20 years ago. Kennedy suggested that the investigation was politically motivated and invoked the statute of limitations as a protective measure. The incident came to light over the summer after Kennedy admitted to leaving a dead bear cub as a prank in Central Park in 2014. This drew attention to a 2012 article in Town & Country magazine, where his daughter Kick Kennedy detailed that Kennedy had once severed the head of a dead whale on the coast of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and transported it on the roof of a minivan to Mount Kisco, New York. The mention of this investigation caused bewilderment during the campaign appearance where Kennedy urged his supporters to back Trump while simultaneously trying to sell his own health and environmental policies with a new MAGA twist. “Make America healthy again!” declared Kennedy, who is skeptical of vaccinations and has promoted a debunked link between vaccines and autism, to the applause of hundreds in the gymnasium of Arizona Christian University. “He [Trump] will end the chronic disease epidemic, and he wanted my help to do it.” As Kennedy considered ending his candidacy, he approached both Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump to see if they would offer him a cabinet position. The Harris campaign declined a meeting with him, but he found a willing ear in Trump, despite previous confrontations as rivals. The former president did not publicly promise Kennedy a cabinet post but signaled that he would work with him on a task force addressing chronic health issues.