Washington DC - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday slammed CNN for accusing him of being dishonest about the rising cost of groceries.
Last month, Kennedy launched a new web series titled "The Real Food Show," in which he and special guests prepare healthy meals that they claim every American can afford to make.
In one episode, Kennedy prepares wild Alaskan salmon cakes with a side salad that he claims can feed four people for only $19.64. In a recent CNN report, however, a journalist made the same recipe with the same ingredients, but found the price tag at $70.54.
In an X post shared Thursday night, RFK reposted the segment, arguing that "Trump Derangement Syndrome" – a fake condition used by President Donald Trump as an insult to dismiss his critics – has caused the network's anchors to abandon "common sense and basic arithmetic."
The secretary explained that his show only factors in "what the recipe actually uses" in the cost, while what remains "stays in your kitchen for the next meal."
"CNN wants us to incorporate the full package price of every ingredient, regardless of what is used in the recipe," he wrote. "If you put a squirt of ketchup on your burger, would you be surprised if the restaurant charged you for the whole bottle?"
Prices continue to rise for Americans under Trump
The reporting comes as the Trump's administration continues to face heavy criticism over rising prices on everyday goods, such as grocery and gas, due to the president's controversial policies, such as his abrupt decision to go to war with Iran and his controversial tariffs placed on US allies.
Administration officials have gone back and forth between telling Americans that prices have not gone up and urging them to power through for a bit longer. Trump has outright said he is not concerned with rising prices, and that the idea of an "affordability crisis" is a made up narrative pushed by Democrats.
In his report, CNN anchor Tom Foreman – and countless X users in the comments section of RFK Jr.'s post – pointed out that the secretary's show is "only pricing parts of" the recipe, though "grocery stores don't sell things that way."