Those interested in working for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, can fill out an online application that asks a series of bizarre personality questions.
The online questionnaire, which can be obtained here, asks applicants to complete a puzzle and synonym test before undergoing a personality survey – presumably to join Kennedy’s team and potentially the Department of HHS.
It is unclear where the test originated but it was first flagged by Puck News, which claimed it confirmed with the Trump team that Kennedy’s team is using to vet potential employees.
One section, reviwed by The Independent, asks applicants to pick three or more attitudes that suit them such as, “I require excessive admiration” or “I don’t have that much interest in having a sexual experience with another person.”
One option offers, “I believe in things many others don’t – like having a ‘sixth sense,’ clairvoyance, and telepathy – and as an adolescent, I had bizarre fantasies or preoccupations.”
Those appear to be the criteria for a schizotypal personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.
Seemingly, the test asks those questions in order to vet people who may have mental health issues.
In the personality trait selection section, applicants are asked to choose five traits that apply most to themselves.
Those options include, “Believe that too much tax money goes to support artists” (a belief supported by The Heritage Foundation), “Do not like poetry”, and “Try to avoid complex people” among others.
The application also includes a section in which people must complete puzzles based on patterns and also match a word to its synonym.
It is unclear what exactly Kennedy’s team is looking for in applicants or what the application is for exactly. A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told Puck confirmed the questionaire is real and that, “Many nominees and appointees are soliciting résumés and then submitting them to the transition for the consideration and process”.
Trump tapped Kennedy to lead the HHS department last month which stirred controversy.
Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has espoused health-related conspiracy theories including attributing vaccines to sudden death or autism and pharmaceuticals to increased liklihood of young people committing mass shootings.
Already, Kennedy has claimed that if he is confirmed he will ban flouride from drinking water.
The Independent has asked the Trump team for comment.
