Don’t Try This At Home, Kids

An X post quoted Aaron Rodgers supposedly saying he wanted to join "the team that's going to bring back polio." The author of the post says its intent was satirical. https://t.co/M8W9kEUydT pic.twitter.com/0vnqsc1SEZ

— snopes.com (@snopes) March 14, 2024

March 12, 2024, The New York Times published an article detailing potential running mates for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign. High on the list was the quarterback of the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers, who Kennedy had been talking to "pretty continuously" for at least a month, according to the article. 

As discussion over the potential options spread on social media, Ken White, the author of the legal blog Popehat, reposted the article on two "Twitter-like" social media platforms, Instagram Threads (owned by Meta) and BlueSky. White captioned the post with a purported quote from Rodgers: 

"If I can't walk anymore, nobody should" said injured Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. "That's why I'm joining the team that's going to bring back polio." 

I’m A Snopes reader emailed us and asked if the quote was real. It was not. Rodgers never said that. 

.... 

In order to fact-check the "bring back polio" statement, we started by reading the New York Times article it supposedly appeared in, but did not find the quote. A quick google search using the quote's wording found no results from any news outlet, The New York Times or otherwise. 

When we reached out to Ken White via email for comment, he confirmed that the post was intended to be satirical and had no basis in reality.

Leave satire to the professionals. And remember: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.