Robert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Kennedy political family who has spent the last six months running for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, announced on Monday he would continue his long-shot pursuit of the White House as an independent.
The 69-year-old conspiracy theorist and vaccination opponent gave a fiery speech from Philadelphia, declaring his “independence from the Democratic party and all other parties”, and telling a gathering of several hundred supporters of his “pain” at leaving the party of his uncle and father, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy.
“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president for the United States. I’m here to join you in making a new declaration of independence for our entire nation,” he said, in a lengthy and often rambling speech taking aim at Wall Street, big pharma, military contractors, the “mercenary media”, and the “two-party establishment” he said was “leading us all over a cliff”.
“A rising tide of discontent is swamping our country. There’s a danger in this discontent but there’s also opportunity and promise,” he added, in what appeared to be a reference to the leading Republican candidate, Donald Trump.
“We seem to be cycling from despair to rage and back to despair. This country is ready for a history making change. They are ready to reclaim their freedom, their independence.”
The launch, however, was glitchy, with Kennedy leaving the stage briefly as soon as he was introduced, complaining he could not see his speech on the autocue, then struggling to find his stride.
And his campaign was immediately assailed as “perilous” for the US in a tweet by prominent Kennedy family members.
“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country,” sisters Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; and brother Joseph P Kennedy II said in the message.
Kennedy, who announced that he was running against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in April, has been polling at an average of 15% among Democrats nationwide. Other polls show he is more popular among Republicans than Democratic party supporters.
But while his chances of winning the election are close to non-existent, his candidacy could still play a significant role as a spoiler. Analysts are divided on whether Kennedy running as an independent would harm the Republicans or Democrats more.
“The Democrats are frightened I’m going to spoil the election for President Biden, and the Republicans are frightened that I’m gonna spoil it for President Trump,” he said. “The truth is, they’re both right. My intention is to spoil it for both of them.”
Over the past six months, Kennedy, who has a track record of promoting conspiracy theories and a long history of opposing vaccines, has struggled to make inroads into Biden’s support.
The nephew of John F Kennedy, and son of Robert F Kennedy, both Democrats who were assassinated, has drawn ire for false comments about wifi causing “leaky brain” and chemicals in water causing gender dysphoria.
In July he was accused of antisemitism after he claimed that Covid had been targeted to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people from the worst impacts of the disease; the same month, the Congressional Integrity Project, a political watchdog, released a report that details Kennedy’s meetings with and promotion of racists, antisemites and extremist conspiracy theorists.
Since launching his campaign Kennedy has repeatedly appeared on Fox News, the rightwing news channel, and has also featured in podcasts of Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser, and Alex Jones, a rightwing conspiracy theorist.
Kennedy was introduced in Philadelphia by a procession of speakers, including his wife, the actor Cheryl Hines, and his campaign manager Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic congressman for Ohio from 1997 to 2013.
Another speaker was Lewis Grassrope, an elder of the South Dakota’s Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, who said he was using indigenous people’s day to call for a healing of political division. “The left wing and right wing are always fighting. If they are always fighting, how are we to become one?” he said, before delivering a prayer in a native American language.
Monday’s announcement was also streamed live on YouTube, the broadcast reaching barely 23,000 viewers at its peak.
Republicans immediately attempted to distance themselves from Kennedy, insisting in a talking points memo there was “very little daylight between RFK Jr and a typical Democratic politician”.
The memo from the Republican National Committee (RNC) listed 23 reasons for Republican voters to reject him, including Kennedy’s previous support for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and support for Democratic positions over the climate emergency, the economy and abortion.
“RFK Jr knows full well he’ll ‘take more votes’ from the Republican nominee; that’s why he’s running,” the RNC memo said.
