WASHINGTON

Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in a 2012 deposition that a doctor suggested that a worm ate part of his brain before dying inside his head, a report said Wednesday.

According to the deposition, which was reviewed by the New York Times, several doctors concluded that Kennedy had a tumor in his brain, while another doctor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital believed he had a dead parasite in his head.

Kennedy was quoted as saying in the deposition that the New York doctor told him that his health issues could be “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.”

At the time he revealed his health problems, Kennedy was in the middle of divorcing his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. He was claiming that his ability to earn income had been diminished by his medical issues.

Shortly after the report was published, Kennedy wrote on X: “I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President (Donald) Trump and President (Joe) Biden in a debate.”

“I feel confident in the result even with a six-worm handicap,” he added.