RFK Jr roasted for photoshopped Donald Trump Thanksgiving photo

Posts from Thanksgiving rarely extend beyond family gatherings, seasonal recipes, or predictable debates about traditional dishes.

This year, however, online attention shifted in an unexpected direction after US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr shared an image that immediately drew scrutiny.

The photo, posted with the caption ‘Happy Thanksgiving!’, depicted Kennedy seated aboard Air Force One alongside Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Before them sat an abundant and meticulously presented holiday meal: turkey, sprouts, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberries, and an array of dishes usually reserved for a polished festive spread.

At a first millisecond glance, the image seemed like an unusual but harmless seasonal gesture of political figures and holiday cheer coming together, but as viewers looked at the image properly, the very obvious inconsistencies began to surface.

The lighting appeared mismatched, the placement of dishes seemed too precise, and none of the four appeared to be actually engaging with the food on the table. Almost instantly, users on X (formerly Twitter) identified the picture as an edited version of a widely circulated photograph from 2024, originally posted by Donald Trump Jr, taken shortly after Trump’s election victory.

The original image showed was instead of the group eating McDonald’s meals rather than an elaborate Thanksgiving feast.

Once this comparison began circulating, online criticism intensified. As reported by People, one user commented: “As fake as your medical knowledge."

Meanwhile, while another asked: “So bizarre … Why do you live a lie?”

A third added: “Try a real picture next time, not one generated with software. This makes it easy to understand why people question what is real. Who can ya trust?”

The reaction was amplified by the difference between the fast-food setting of DTJ’s original image and the more curated, almost promotional appearance of the edited version.

For critics, the alteration clashed with Kennedy’s association with the Make America Healthy Again initiative, prompting questions about the decision to replace a casual meal with a stylised holiday spread.

Further context highlighting the theme of hypocrisy in RFK’s Secretary of Health role came up in a recent interview with The Atlantic, where he was questioned about his nicotine and artificial tanning habits, while refusing a National Guard flight’s reheated chicken quesadillas in favour of a grass-fed yoghurt. He said: “I’m not telling people that they should do anything that I do… I just say ‘Get in shape.’ ”