President Donald Trump said Friday that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “personally ran over the cow” served to guests at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, drawing what several outlets called the night’s biggest laugh.
Trump delivered the line at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., with Kennedy seated in the room, folding the dinner menu into a running joke during an hour-long speech that also targeted the assembled press corps.
The president told the crowd the beef tenderloin was “very special beef.”
“And I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here, personally ran over the cow in his car. Boom,” Trump said. “And he cut it up and he brought it here for you to eat tonight. So, it’s very fresh.”
WATCH: Trump Cracks WHCD up with RFK Jr. Road-to-Table Menu
Trump then floated a menu item he said the White House had rejected. He gestured toward Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, who was seated beside the health secretary.
“And Bobby also suggested an appetizer featuring his favorite cut of male raccoon roadkill. But we drew the line at that, Cheryl,” Trump said. “We said, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’”
The president turned from the jokes to praise. He called Kennedy “a piece of work” and “a very different kind of a person” before crediting him with the qualities to run the department.
“But he has what it takes and he’s smart and he loves the country, and he wants people to be made to feel good,” Trump said. “He’s doing a fantastic job. Thank you, Bobby.”
The jokes drew on Kennedy’s long record with roadkill. In 2014, he left a dead bear cub in Central Park and staged the scene to look like a cyclist accident, later telling a reporter he has been “picking up roadkill my whole life.” Kennedy has also made red meat a centerpiece of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, promoting beef and beef tallow in federal dietary guidance.
The remarks came at the rescheduled dinner, moved to July after an armed man opened fire outside the original April event at the Washington Hilton. Trump closed the night by donning a “Trump 2028” hat.
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