RFK Jr accused of going to bathroom barefoot on plane

Conservative podcast host says he took a picture of RFK Jr shoeless in first class cabin

Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy JR has been accused of “disgusting “ behaviour by walking into a plane’s bathroom while barefoot.

Mr Kennedy, the nephew of the 35th President of the US, John F Kennedy, is running as an independent candidate in the 2024 US presidential elections, after first declaring as a Democrat.

He is currently polling higher than any independent or third-party candidate in a generation, according to CNN, but his flight etiquette has been making waves on social media.

The In The Tank podcast by The Heartland Institue, a conservative and libertarian think tank famous for promoting climate change scepticism, aired an episode claiming that Mr Kennedy’s mid-air shoeless stroll was spotted by one of their hosts.

Justin Haskins, an executive editor at The Heartland Institute and editor-in-chief of ‘StoppingSocialism.com,’ boasted about his recent first-class trip on a flight when a man he thought to be Mr Kennedy sat in front of him.

After admitting he tried to take a few surreptitious photos of the presidential candidate, he claimed he saw Mr Kennedy Jr get up to walk to the plane’s bathroom.

Lol!! #RFKJr What you doing with no shoes and socks in the airplane bathroom?!?https://t.co/XoFlD9ppeZ

— In The Tank Podcast (@InTheTankPod) November 12, 2023

“As he’s walking to the bathroom, I realise the guy has no shoes on and no socks and the floor is covered with food, like disgusting food,” he recalled.

“He goes into the restroom sockless and shoeless. Something I’ve literally never seen in my entire life. Absolutely disgusting, right?” Mr Haskins continued to monologue, showing the picture he took of Mr Kennedy walking barefoot.

“This guy’s a presidential candidate, you know he’s he doesn’t wear shoes and socks in a plane in first class like what is this?”

The three other hosts, all of whom also work for the climate-denying think tank, start to laugh and point out stains and what appear to be food crumbs on the floor.

RFK Jr. is running for president in the 2024 elections (Getty Images)

Mr Haskins said that before Mr Kennedy Jr allegedly walked down the plane barefooted, a woman had spilt her food all over the aisle.

“So now we’re gonna ruin his entire presidential campaign based on this entire scenario,” Mr Haskins declared to the rest of his colleagues. “This man needs to be removed from the race immediately.”

Jim Lakely, the vice president of The Heartland Insitute, chimed in on Mr Haskins’s alleged sighting and said,  “If we start letting people who walk around barefoot on airplanes in positions of power in this country, then we’re through as a country.”

One of the hosts asked if this picture was definitely not AI-generated but was shut down as others argued it was a real picture.

The Independent has contacted Mr Kennedy’s campaign team for comment.