Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a crowd that "one of the biggest pressure campaigns" he faced from the White House came during his overhaul to the food pyramid: adding Oreo ice cream to the top.
"I heard that that came from the vice president's office, and I want to just ask you face-to-face in front of an audience, is that true?" Kennedy said to Vice President JD Vance at the 2026 MAHA Summit in Washington, D.C.
Vance did not deny the allegations, telling the crowd, "I'm like the Brett Kavanaugh of ice cream. He liked beer, I liked ice cream." The comment recalled Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh's 2018 nomination hearings, where beer was
mentioned on several occasions during contentious questioning.
The vice president went on to share that Kennedy put Vance on a "crazy diet" so he doesn't eat ice cream much anymore. He detailed a story where on Fat Tuesday, the Christian holiday before the Lenten season begins, Vance called Kennedy, saying, "hey man, I'm thinking about giving up sugar for Lent," the forty day period ahead of Easter.
"What are the health benefits of giving up sugar?" Vance recalled asking Kennedy on the phone. "He was like, 'no, no, no, no, no, have I got the thing for you.' And again, that was Fat Tuesday. And thanks to Bobby Kennedy, fat Wednesday never came."
In Vance's appearance, the Trump administration duo also talked about a variety of topics, including the "fat JD" meme, artificial intelligence use in medical treatment, prescription prices and fraud in welfare programs.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. says he faced 'pressure campaign' to add Oreo ice cream on food pyramid
