After Dead Bear and Whale Head, Kennedy Grabs Snakes Barehanded... US Health Secretary's 'Animal Antics'

"Why are you doing this?" Wife tries to intervene
Kennedy holds up two snakes for the camera
Scene of snake biting his finger clearly captured
Past bear and whale carcass controversies resurface

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, has sparked controversy after releasing a video in which he grabs two snakes with his bare hands. In the video, his wife Cheryl Hines tries to stop him, asking "Why are you doing this?" but Secretary Kennedy proceeds to catch the snakes and hold them up in front of the camera. During this process, he is even seen being bitten on the finger.

In the video, Secretary Kennedy bent down toward two snakes in the corner of the terrace and reached out his hand without any protective gear. Robert Kennedy Jr.'s social media post

On May 26 (local time), American media outlets such as The Hill reported that Secretary Kennedy posted a video on his X (formerly Twitter) account, showing him capturing two black snakes with his bare hands. The video was reportedly filmed on the terrace of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

In the footage, Secretary Kennedy bends down toward two snakes tucked away in the corner of the terrace and reaches out his hand without any protective gear. The snakes are intertwined and moving around each other, and Secretary Kennedy grabs them without hesitation. His spouse, Cheryl Hines, can be heard exclaiming in a shocked voice, "Why are you doing this?" and "Put them down now!" several times. However, ignoring these pleas, Secretary Kennedy brings the snakes closer to the camera and smiles.

During this process, one of the snakes appears to bite Secretary Kennedy's finger, as captured on video. Hines responds with comments such as "Oh my God," and "You're out of your mind," but Secretary Kennedy does not let go of the snakes until the end.

Together with the video, Secretary Kennedy posted a message along the lines of, "Cheryl cheered me on as I removed two black racers from Dr. Oz's terrace." Foreign media reported that the snakes appear to be non-venomous black racers. However, experts point out that handling wild snakes with bare hands should be avoided due to the risk of bites or infection, even if the snakes are not venomous.

In the video, Secretary Kennedy bent down toward two snakes in the corner of the terrace and reached out without any protective gear. The snakes were entwined with each other and moving, and Secretary Kennedy grasped them without hesitation. Robert Kennedy Jr. SNS

The spread of this video has also brought renewed attention to Secretary Kennedy's previous controversies related to animals. In the past, he admitted to moving the carcass of a bear cub killed by a car into Central Park, New York, which caused public debate. Additionally, Secretary Kennedy's daughter once claimed in an interview that her father used a chainsaw to remove the head of a whale carcass that had washed up on the Massachusetts coast. This incident reportedly became the subject of an investigation by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after being reported by citizen groups.

More recently, he came under fire for releasing photos of himself holding live wild birds in his hands. With the addition of the latest snake video, Secretary Kennedy's so-called "animal antics" are once again at the center of online debate in the United States. Some internet users commented that "it is not a big deal if the snakes were non-venomous" or "he was just trying to move the animals outside." In contrast, others criticized, "A cabinet minister responsible for health policy is publicly engaging in dangerous behavior as if it were a joke," and "Such unexpected actions are inappropriate for a public official."

Secretary Kennedy is the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. He declared an independent bid in the 2024 presidential election but later endorsed President Donald Trump. He is currently serving as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.