RFK Jr. says doctors found dead worm that ate part of his brain

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said that, years ago, doctors found a dead worm that ate part of his brain, according to The New York Times.

Kennedy told The Times in an interview this winter that, in 2010, after experiencing memory loss and mental fogginess, doctors believed a parasite had died after eating part of his brain, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

He said in a 2012 deposition for his divorce of his second marriage that an abnormality found on brain scans "was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died." The divorce proceedings were with Kennedy's second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who committed suicide before they were finalized, according to Politico.

"I have cognitive problems, clearly," Kennedy said in the 2012 deposition. "I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me." Kennedy was arguing in the divorce deposition that his cognitive struggles resulted in his diminished earning power.

Kennedy was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning, which can cause serious neurological issues, at roughly the same point he learned of the parasite. He further said that he had been eating a heavy diet of fish with elevated mercury levels when he received the diagnosis.

Last week, The Times asked Kennedy's campaign if his fitness for the presidency could be compromised by his health issues. The campaign's spokeswoman, Stefanie Spear, responded, "[t]hat is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition."

Kennedy, 70, is running as an independent in the 2024 presidential race against President Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77.