New Delhi: US Vice President JD Vance revealed that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. played a role in his weight-loss journey, joking that Kennedy’s strict health advice helped him shed the pounds.
Vance made the remarks during a White House press briefing on Thursday, when reporters asked him about his weight loss.
“So, when you’re the vice president of the United States and one of the first questions at a press conference in the White House is how much weight you’ve lost, you must have gotten very fat,” Vance joked in response to the questions.
Vance said Kennedy, whom he described as being “really into health,” influenced his decision to begin his weight-loss journey around Lent in February. He said he had called Kennedy and told him he was considering giving up sugar.
“Bobby Kennedy says, ‘No, no, no, no, I’ve got something that’s way better than that and way more intense.’ And basically … I eat a lot of high-protein stuff, and I eat a lot of sauerkraut. And let’s just say that if that was Fat Tuesday, Fat Wednesday never came,” Vance said.
Taking a lighthearted approach to the question, Vance further joked about Kennedy’s strict health advice and going to him if anybody needs health advice.
“So, my advice to you is that if you want to lose weight, call Bobby Kennedy. And if you want to enjoy what you eat, do not call Bobby Kennedy,” he said.
Vance on US-Iran conflict
The weight-loss exchange came during the first White House press briefing in more than 40 days, following the departure of former press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the end of August.
Reporters also questioned Vance about the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, including recent strikes.
“I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now there’s no active shooting. I recognize there have been places where this has flared up,” Vance said.
He said major combat operations were not currently taking place.
“Major combat operations are currently not ongoing, and they haven’t been ongoing in a very long time,” he said.
Vance was also asked about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s prediction in July that gas prices could fall to $3 a gallon by Labor Day. Vance said Bessent had only suggested that this “maybe” could happen because energy prices can be difficult to predict.
“I’m not going to make a promise about when it’s going to return to $3,” Vance said, responding to reporters
Edited by Maryam Hassan