JD Vance is spilling the secret behind his recent weight loss, crediting Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his guiding light.
"So, when you're the vice president of the United States, and one of the first questions at a press conference of the White House is how much weight you've lost, you must have gotten very fat," Vance said, responding to a question in the White House briefing room during the first presser held since the departure of former press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Vance then said that as a "devout Christian," he tries to take Lent "very seriously."
"I was talking to my wife on Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and I was like, 'I think I'm going to give up sugar,'" Vance told Fox News Channel's Senior White House
Correspondent Peter Doocy, who commented that the VP has "lost a ton of weight recently" and asked how much sauerkraut he eats.
'If you want to lose weight, call Bobby'
Vance said he called Bobby Kennedy, since he's "really into health," and told him he's thinking about giving up sugar.
"And Bobby Kennedy says, 'No, no, no, no. I've got something that's way better than that and way more intense,'" Vance said. "Basically I eat a lot of high-protein stuff, and I eat a lot of sauerkraut. And let's just say that if that was Fat Tuesday, Fat Wednesday never came."
Vance then suggested that if "you want to lose weight, call Bobby Kennedy."
"And if you want to enjoy what you eat, do not call Bobby Kennedy," he laughed.
Vance also said that during Lent he planned to give up social media and would tell his team to "tweet something to me" if he wanted to share something.
"I'd tell these guys to tweet something for me, and I'd otherwise try to stay off social media," Vance said.
Rubio says he won't be following RFK Jr.'s 'crazy diet'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, joked last month that he would not be following Kennedy Jr.'s diet anytime soon.
"(It is) a crazy diet," Rubio had said about RFK Jr.'s eating habits while appearing on "The Katie Miller Podcast," published on Aug. 11. "This is a diet that consists of eating sauerkraut and meat. This is not a sustainable thing; like you can't just walk into it."
When his wife, Jeanette Rubio, interjected, saying RFK Jr. can "sustain" it, Rubio remarked that his Trump administration colleague "has to travel with coolers of sauerkraut."
"I'm not gonna travel the world with a cooler full of sauerkraut," Rubio exclaimed. "It's ridiculous. I can't do it. It's not sustainable."
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JD Vance credits recent weight loss to RFK Jr's diet: 'Call Bobby'
