Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has added snake wrangler to his list of unusual animal encounters. In a video posted on X Tuesday, Kennedy is seen capturing two black racer snakes from the patio of fellow Trump official Dr. Mehmet Oz's beachfront home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Snake Capture Caught on Camera
"Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of Black Racers from Dr Oz's patio," Kennedy captioned the post. The clip shows his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, nervously watching as Kennedy is repeatedly bitten by the snakes. Hines is heard repeatedly asking, "Bobby, why?" as Kennedy corners the mating snakes.
Once captured, Kennedy holds the snakes up for the camera, grinning as they wriggle in his hands. "You are nuts," Hines, star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, tells her husband, who chuckles despite the bites. Dr. Oz asks off-camera, "Are they biting?" Kennedy confirms, dressed in a light blue dress shirt, tie, and dress pants. Fortunately, Southern black racer snakes are nonvenomous.
"Honey, honey. Let them go," Hines pleads in the background. "Oh my God. Bobby, Bobby. Please. Oh, God."
Social Media Reactions
The video sparked a flurry of reactions on X. One user joked, "RFK picking up snakes barehanded is the most normal thing he's done all week." Another wrote, "A snake oil salesman removing snakes. Oh the irony." A third added, "Now do the snakes in Congress." Others questioned Kennedy's caption, noting Hines' distress.
Pattern of Animal Encounters
This is not Kennedy's first animal capture this month. On May 3, he posted a photo of himself holding a bird at Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C., captioned "Starling rescue today at Dulles Airport." In July 2024, he shared a video on Facebook of trapping a snake in his backyard, bagging it before relocation.
