Philadelphia State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta on Friday responded to a viral clip of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in which Kennedy said on a recent podcast that he is “not scared” of germs because he once “snorted cocaine off toilet seats.”
The health secretary commented on an appearance on Theo Von’s show, This Past Weekendwhere the two spoke about their shared experiences with drug addiction.
Kennedy, who has previously been open about his past substance abuse, also discussed attending recovery meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “They shut (the rehabilitation meetings) down during COVID. We still did live meetings every day, but it was kind of a pirate group… I said, ‘I don’t care what happens. I’m going to a meeting every day.’”
“I said, ‘I’m not scared of a germ.’ You know, I used to snort cocaine off a toilet seat, and I know this disease [addiction] will kill me, right? If I don’t treat it, which means, for me, going to meetings every day. It’s just bad for my life. So for me, it was survival.”
Reposting the video on
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes from a family with a history of substance abuse and has openly discussed his own heroin addiction. Last April, he shared that he first encountered addiction at age 15 after experimenting with LSD.
His remarks follow his recent announcement of $100 million in funding for new grants under a pilot program addressing homelessness and substance use recovery in eight cities.
This initiative builds on an executive order signed last month by Donald Trump, titled “The Great American Recovery Initiative.”
What is The Great American Recovery Initiative?
According to a White House fact sheet, the order establishes a “White House Great American Recovery Initiative,” which will advise federal agencies on directing grants to support addiction recovery and increasing awareness around drug dependence, while guiding departments on integrating programs focused on prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and re-entry.
The initiative will be co-chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kathryn Burgum, the spouse of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. A White House official said Kathryn Burgum, who has spoken publicly about her own recovery journey, was expected to attend Trump’s announcement of the program.
The move comes amid continued concern over overdose deaths in the US. CNN reported that fatalities surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven largely by fentanyl, although Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show deaths have declined since 2022 and recently returned to pre-pandemic levels. Despite the drop, more than 70,000 people in the US died from overdoses in the past year.
Government data cited by the White House indicated that in 2024, over 74% of adults who believed they had drug or alcohol problems considered themselves to be in recovery or fully recovered. The figures also showed that among 40.7 million adults with a substance use disorder who did not receive treatment, 95.6% did not realize they needed help.
The administration said the initiative is part of broader efforts to coordinate resources nationwide and bolster public health responses, complementing a larger White House campaign targeting alleged drug trafficking networks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
(With inputs from agencies)
