Some politicians just wave at parades or flip burgers for the cameras. Then there is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who decided to grab a bunch of squirming snakes with his bare hands right outside Dr. Mehmet Oz's house in Florida. That is not a normal Tuesday, even by Florida standards, and the entire internet seemed to lose its mind.
Videos and photos popped up everywhere: Kennedy, grinning, clutching big, restless snakes near Dr. Oz's place. Instantly: memes, jokes, and hot takes. People called him 'fearless,' 'Florida's final boss,' and wondered if being a public health official means you should really, really not mess with random reptiles in your free time.
What Exactly Happened?
On Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who serves as the health secretary, added to his growing collection of wild animal stories, posting a video from Florida where he wrestles two snakes with his bare hands. He is not new to this kind of thing; he once admitted to dumping the body of a bear cub in Central Park, and there is a bizarre story about him supposedly mutilating a raccoon that had been hit by a car. In the video, Kennedy grabs the snakes, holding them up for the camera. His wife, Cheryl Hines, tells him to be careful, and you can hear her nerves as one of the snakes suddenly lunges and bites Kennedy's hand. He recoils, but still laughs. There is another voice, probably Dr. Oz, suggesting the snakes were either mating or fighting, and Cheryl keeps cheering him on as he removes the snakes from what turns out to be Dr. Oz's patio. The video was apparently shot at Oz's Palm Beach mansion, right on the water.
The snakes, per The Guardian, are southern black racers. They are fast, super common in Florida, and, more importantly, harmless to people. So, nothing to fear — unless, of course, you are Kennedy, who took the bite in stride.
Nobody is really sure when the short, 49-second clip was filmed or what ended up happening to the snakes after the recording. As Kennedy handles both snakes, well away from their heads, a woman's voice captures the mood perfectly: 'You're nuts.'
The Aftermath: What Social Media Thought
It might seem like a funny scene on the surface, but there is a real question hiding underneath all the memes: Is it ever safe to grab wild snakes in Florida — one of the snake capitals of the US — with bare hands? Wildlife experts do not need a long answer. It is just, no. Do not do it.
The story blew up on social media: think Instagram, X, TikTok — name a platform. Kennedy looked so comfortable, like picking up snakes is just something you do before toast and coffee. People brought up all his old wildlife stories: dead bears, ravens, falcons… the man has a knack for chaos in nature. RFK Jr. is not your average political character, and the internet eats that up.
Someone joked on X, 'RFK Jr. handles snakes the way most people pick up charging cables.' Another wrote, 'American politics is already wild enough, and then RFK Jr. starts freestyling with reptiles.' Another brought the full emotional range: everything from 'pure Florida' to 'Sir, that is not how OSHA works.'
Is It Even Safe?
However, despite all the jokes and memes flooding across social media, there is a 'slight' problem regarding the viral video — and contrary to RFK Jr.'s nonchalant attitude towards it — it is a pretty serious one: these viral snake-wrangling moments convince people, 'oh, I can do that too.'
In Florida, according to the Florida Museum, where there are over forty native snake species (some of them very venomous), grabbing random snakes is a bad idea. Experts who know what they are doing use hooks, gloves, bags — all the actual equipment. Venomous bite? You could end up in the hospital, with permanent damage or worse. CDC data says thousands get bitten by venomous snakes in the US every year, but most survive, thanks to modern medicine. Still, why risk it?
And there is the bigger issue: people watching Kennedy are not seeing the caution or the context, just the bravado. 'People see confidence and assume safety,' as one Florida reptile educator summed it up. 'Next thing you know, someone is in flip-flops, trying to pet a cottonmouth.'
Social media, of course, had its own agenda. Some people loved watching RFK's calmness. Others could not get past the idea of snakes wriggling around at a kind of campaign event at Dr. Oz's mansion. Memes exploded: 'RFK Jr. treating venomous wildlife like emotional support noodles.' Or this gem: 'At this point I fully expect RFK Jr. to challenge an alligator to mutual respect combat.'
But behind the jokes, wildlife groups tried to set the record straight: do not mess with wild snakes. Most snakes want nothing to do with you. They control pests, keep the local ecosystem in line, and generally mind their own business unless bothered. Problems start when people trap, poke, or kill them.
Moreover, Florida's snake scene is tricky right now. Invasive Burmese pythons are spreading in the Everglades, and people often cannot tell the dangerous ones from harmless ones in a quick video. Some insisted Kennedy was just handling non-venomous or controlled snakes; however, nobody actually confirmed. Experts say, unless you know exactly which snake you are grabbing, do not even try.
After all, snakes do not care about likes or the latest viral trend. They will not give you a second chance if you get it wrong.
