Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have lost part of his brain to a parasitic worm, but he still believes he could easily win a presidential debate. "I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate," the candidate said in a post on X, adding: "I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap." After Elon Musk suggested that the debate be held on X Spaces with Tucker Carlson moderating, Kennedy replied, "I'm in," the Guardian reports.
On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that in a 2012 divorce deposition, Kennedy said doctors told him an abnormality seen on brain scans "was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." His campaign said he "contracted a parasite" during his international travels but the "issue was resolved more than 10 years ago, and he is in robust physical and mental health." Experts say worms don't really eat brain tissue, but the idea is a "layman's understanding of what parasites might do if they enter the central nervous system," the BBC reports.
Dr. Philip Budge at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis tells the BBC that parasite larvae in the brain create cysts that do not absorb any brain tissue but "simply create a space for the parasite to live." It's possible that the cysts could push small amounts of brain matter aside, Budge says. Dr. Arnab Chatterjee at the Center for Antiviral Medicines and Pandemic Preparedness says he's not aware of any cases in which a "parasite affected cognition," though problems have been linked to another condition Kennedy spoke of: high mercury levels from a diet heavy in tuna fish. No word on whether Kennedy would be willing to eat six tuna before debating Biden and Trump. (More Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
