Mike Tyson MAHA Super Bowl commercial spotlights RFK Jr.
Mike Tyson’s Super Bowl commercial spotlighted RFK Jr.’s MAHA project.
During a podcast appearance, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reflected on his decades in recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, admitting that he snorted cocaine off a toilet seat.
Mr. Kennedy opened up about his recovery and talked about his recovery on Theo Fung’s podcast, “This Past Weekend,” which aired on February 12. Kennedy said he and Kennedy, a comedian and podcaster, met at a morning recovery meeting before the coronavirus outbreak and later formed the “Pirates” group, which continued to meet during the pandemic.
“I’m not afraid of germs. I once snorted cocaine off a toilet seat,” Kennedy said. “If I don’t do that, if I don’t treat it, that means for me going to meetings every day. It’s bad for my life.”
Kennedy previously spoke about his heroin addiction
This admission may come as a surprise to some, but Kennedy has spoken about his past drug use.
In a speech to thousands of medical, law enforcement and business officials at the Rx and Illegal Drugs Summit in Nashville in April 2025, President Kennedy said his policy views were influenced by the 14-year heroin addiction he overcame.
“I know the only way to stay sober is to take responsibility for my daily actions,” Kennedy said at the time. “I try to accept the things I can’t control and practice gratitude for them. I can control my actions and daily actions, but I can’t control the world around me.”
By Kennedy’s own account, his first experience with drugs was the summer after his father was assassinated in 1968. He took the hallucinogen LSD at a party and was introduced to opioids by neighbors on his way home afterwards.
“They said, ‘Try this,’ and it was a dose of meth,” he said in a speech in Nashville. “Once I took it, all my problems disappeared. My addiction started in earnest. By the end of the summer, I was hitting heroin. That was my drug of choice for the next 14 years.”
In his speech, President Kennedy said his recovery began after his arrest and treatment in 1983.
“I knew I needed a spiritual awakening,” he continued. “I didn’t want to be that person.”
President Kennedy said he made an intelligent choice to rely on his faith in God. But he struggled with the concept of religion until he discovered psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s perspective on spirituality.
“I make my bed every day and it’s insane,” he said. “I do it because what I’m trying to do is build character. The wealth you build is an illusion. Long-term sobriety requires you to maintain an attitude of surrender. Surrender even when things are going well in your life.”
Sandy Mazza of the Nashville Tennessean, a member of the USA TODAY Network, contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact us at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow us at X @fern_cerv_.
