Here's another bizarro event on everyone's 2025 bingo card that nobody saw coming.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. dined at a Steak 'n Shake and raved about their french fries after the fast food chain announced that it had swapped out seed oils for beef tallow to fry their fries.
HHS Secretary Kennedy, who was selected by Republican President Donald Trump, is a health nut and once criticized the President's fast food diet.
In a November 2024 interview on The Joe Polish Show podcast, Kennedy stated that the processed foods that Trump prefers eating from fast food joints like KFC and McDonald's were "poison."
But now that Steak 'n Shake is frying its shoestring fries in beef tallow, Kennedy gave his stamp of approval and chomped away during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity at the restaurant.
“People are raving about these french fries," remarked the "Make America Healthy Again" crusader.
Hannity agreed, saying:
“They’re amazing. They really are.”
Australian X user Drew Pavlou was stunned to see the Health Secretary "doing a paid advertisement for Steak 'n Shake," adding that the Fox News interview with him was "so incredible - so much grift."
The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology President Richard Hanania referred to the Steak 'n Shake ad posing as a "news interview" as a "disgusting grift."
What's the world coming to?
And here we have a video of RFK Jr (the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, remember) advertising Steak 'n Shake fries (now fried in beef tallow) on Fox News. nypost.com/2025/03/10/u...
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— Dr Duncan Robertson (@duncanrobertson.bsky.social) March 11, 2025 at 6:51 AM
RFK Jr. very slowly - like, over the course of seven minutes - doing a full split on the floor of a Steak ‘n Shake, his expression never changing, his shoes squeaking at deafening levels.
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— Rob Wesley (@eastwes.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 7:38 PM
RFK Jr. said other companies will follow suit with a more natural frying process, but maintained that he wasn't going to push for mandates dictating how restaurants prepare their food.
“I have a Libertarian outlook," he told Hannity, adding:
"People should be able to make their own choices. If you want to eat a donut or seed oils, you should be able to. You should be able to exercise informed choice."
"You should know what that product is, what’s in your food, and what the health impacts are. And that’s all we’re going to do."
"We’re going to incentivize people to — we’re going to incentivize companies to be transparent. And we’re going to inform Americans about what’s making them sick. Nobody wants to be sick.”
I see Steak n Shake has gone full RFK Jr. That's a no from me, dawg.
— Lewis Edwards (@binaryequation.bsky.social) March 8, 2025 at 5:15 AM
The last time the public saw RFK Jr. sitting down for a fast food meal was on Trump's private jet en route to New York City to attend the UFC 309 fight at Madison Square Garden in November of 2024.
Kennedy, pictured with Elon Musk, Don Jr., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, were gorging on an assortment of McDonald's menu items, including Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets, fries, and Filet-O-Fish.
What is going on with RFK Jr.? All I've seen this guy do since Trump won the election is eat burgers.
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— casersatz (@casersatz.bsky.social) March 11, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Meanwhile, the anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist—who once said that measles outbreaks “have been fabricated to create fear" and that Americans have been "misled...into believing that measles is a deadly disease"—is getting slammed for his casual response to the measles outbreak that began in Texas, happening under his watch.
Social media users called Kennedy out for his mixed-up priorities.
We are in the midst of a deadly measles outbreak and RFK Jr is congratulating Steak n Shake on changing the seed oil in their 650kcal/1400mg Sodium large fries to beef tallow. Chat, is this public health?
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— Kevin C Klatt, PhD, RD (@kcklatt.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Last week, Steak 'n Shake announced:
“Our fries will now be cooked in an authentic way, 100% beef tallow, in order to achieve the highest quality and best taste.”
The company posted on social media:
“Steak 'n Shake is proud to support MAHA and Secretary Kennedy! Your days are numbered seed oil. We want to lead the way and make a difference! #MAHA”
The Indianapolis-based company also used Kennedy as a verb to articulate Steak 'n Shake's mission to do away with seed oils at all national locations by March 1, writing, "Fries will be RFK'd!" on its socials.
Kennedy appreciated the shout-out and thanked the company "for leadership in the crusade to Make America Healthy Again."
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat, sometimes called beef drippings. Like other solid cooking fats like butter and coconut oil, beef tallow is made up primarily of saturated fat and doesn't appear to raise cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats, according to the Mayo Clinic,
Frying with beef tallow can be a healthier option over seed oils as it has a high smoke point, making it suitable for high-heat cooking. Beef tallow is also a good source of saturated fats and essential nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.
However, frying food in any kind of oil is still considered a health risk and can lead to increased chances of cardiovascular disease.
Nevertheless, bon appétit, Mr. Health Secretary.
