Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vax independent candidate for president, is apparently anti-hygiene too. The controversial political scion was photographed after he walked to the bathroom in bare feet on a commercial flight. (Watch the video below.)
Conservative commentator Justin Haskins, who said he sat behind Kennedy in first class on the recent voyage from Portland to Dallas (per TMZ), snapped the pic and milked it for mockery on the “In The Tank” podcast he shared Sunday on YouTube.
Haskins told his podcast mates that he was initially looking for the right opportunity to take a routine picture of Kennedy so he could show right-wing host Glenn Beck when Haskins was to appear on his show. Haskins works for the Heartland Institute, which is known for its climate-denial conferences, so he didn’t think it would fly if he were to ask Kennedy for a photo.
He waited for an impromptu opportunity instead.
“RFK gets up and he goes to the bathroom and as he’s walking to the bathroom and I realize the guy has no shoes on and no socks,” he said. “And the floor is covered with food and it’s like disgusting food. … He goes into the restroom sockless and shoeless, something I’ve literally never seen in my entire life out of all the times I’ve been on planes. … Absolutely disgusting, right? … Think about all the urine that’s on the floor on this air bathroom.”
“So now we’ve ruined his entire presidential campaign,” he said later, sparking lighthearted outrage at Kennedy’s behavior from colleagues and a declaration from Haskins:
“This man needs to be removed from the race immediately.”
While the entire clip is devoted to RFK Jr.’s barefoot walk into infamy, fast-forward to 5:40 for a brief intro and the photo:
Flight faux pas and press coverage notwithstanding, Kennedy recently polled at 22%, the highest an independent or third-party candidate has reached in a generation, CNN reported.
HuffPost has reached out to Kennedy’s campaign for comment.