HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Mocks West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s Weight & Challenges Him To Do Public Weigh-Ins

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ridiculed Gov. Patrick Morrisey‘s (R-West Virginia) weight and recommended that he do public weigh-ins.

At a press conference, Kennedy recalled getting to know Morrisey during the transition period into the second Trump administration.

“The first time I saw him, I said, ‘You look like you ate Gov. Morrisey,'” he stated. “And – and there was a lot of talk about getting healthy again.

“And I’m very happy that he’s invited me to be his personal trainer. And I am gonna put him – I’m gonna put him on a really rigorous regimen, and we’re going to put him on a carnivore diet.

“We’re going to make him do – raise your hand if you want Gov. Morrisey to do a public weigh-in once a month. And then when he’s lost 30 pounds I’m going to come back to [West Virginia] and do a celebration in a public weigh-in with him.

“You’re welcome, Denise,” the HHS Secretary added, referring to Morrisey’s wife, Denise Morrisey.

The joint event in Martinsburg, West Virginia, was to promote Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, which he promoted on X last September with reality TV star Amber Rose. He is working to rid the American food supply of additives, dyes and other unhealthy ingredients.

In a statement on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, Kennedy urged “the 24 states pushing MAHA bills to clean up our food system, improve school lunches, submit waivers to SNAP, and promote patient choice.”

“This state leadership adds leverage to the Trump administration’s drive to Make America Healthy Again,” he added. “I urge every governor to follow West Virginia’s lead and submit a waiver to the USDA to remove soda from SNAP. If there’s one thing we can agree on, it should be eliminating taxpayer-funded soda subsidies for lower-income kids. I look forward to inviting every governor who submits a waiver to come celebrate with me at the White House this fall.”

West Virginia’s governor recently signed a bill that would prohibit his state’s residents on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, from buying soda with the benefits.

On March 24, Morrisey signed House Bill 2354 into law, prohibiting harmful food dyes in school lunches and unhealthy food items for sale in West Virginia.

The legislation also forbids their use as an ingredient in any meal served in a school nutrition program starting on August 1, 2025.

“West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there’s no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission,” Morrisey said.

“By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we’re taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges,” he said. “Thank you to the Legislature, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, and the entire Trump Administration for helping us launch this movement right here in West Virginia.”

According to survey findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a partnership between the Centers For Disease Control and state health agencies, released in May 2024, West Virginia had the highest obesity rate, at 41.3%.