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US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has been slammed online for taking his grandchildren swimming in waters known to be contaminated with sewage.
On Sunday (11 May), RFK Jr shared what should have been a wholesome set of images of him spending time with his grandkids at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. on Mother’s Day.
The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shared four images on X/Twitter showing him swimming in some water along with his young children.
He captioned the post: “Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson, and a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat and Cassius in Rock Creek.”
It didn’t take long, however, for social media users to point out that health officials (bar himself, apparently) recommend against swimming in water at Rock Creek because it is where a lot of the sewage from the capital ends up.
A page that has been active on the Rock Creek National Park Service website since at least 28 October 2022 states: “Swimming and wading are not allowed due to high bacteria levels. Stay out of the water to protect streambanks, plants and animals and keep you and your family (including pets!) safe from illness.
“Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health.”
The irony of the literal US health secretary bathing in unsafe waters was not lost on social media users.
“Imagine hiking through Rock Creek and finding the HHS Secretary wading in contaminated water,” someone wrote.
Another said: “The fact that our health secretary is swimming in this s**t speaks volumes.”
One person added: “The head of Health and Human Services doing underwater backflips in doo doo water is just too on the nose honestly.”
Why not read…
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