Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton performed at a private event to raise $2.2 million for the presidential campaign of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Clapton, who is also a vocal anti-vaxxer, played guitar with his band at a private estate in Brentwood, near Los Angeles, on Monday evening.
The fundraiser, with tickets costing up to $6,600 for guests wanting to meet Clapton, raised $2.2 million – $1 million for Kennedy Jr.’s campaign. and $1.2 million for a PAC supporting the Democrat.
Kennedy Jr shared footage of Clapton performing outside for his presidential slogan ‘Heal the divide’ as hundreds of guests watched from their tables set under Christmas lights.
It’s no surprise that Clapton decided to send Kennedy Jr. to help raise money as the pair of prominent anti-vax conspiracy theorists.
The guitarist has written songs in recent years condemning the Covid vaccines and even compared the lockdowns to slavery.
Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton performed at a private event to raise $2.2 million for the presidential campaign of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
It’s no surprise that Clapton decided to help Kennedy Jr (pictured in LA on Friday) raise money, as the pair of prominent anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists.
“I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my meeting in Los Angeles,” said a gushing Kennedy Jr. after the performance.
‘I sometimes think that in our divided society it is music rather than any form of intellectual agreement that has the most potential to bring us together again. Eric sings from the depths of the human condition,” Kennedy Jr. continued.
“If he sees in me the opportunity to bring unity to our country, it is only possible because artists like him rely on a hidden belief in the limitless power of man to overcome any obstacle.”
Kennedy challenges Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. Biden leads by 50 points in the polls. But polls also show voters are concerned that at 80, Biden may be too old to do the job.
Like Clapton, Kennedy has continued to spout debunked conspiracy theories about the Covid vaccine.
In June, he repeated his claims that the Covid vaccines cause autism during his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
‘Everyone will say, ‘There’s no research showing that autism and vaccines are linked.’ That’s just crazy. These are people who don’t look at science. It’s part of the religion.’
The Democrat has made a name for himself by being a prominent anti-vaxxer, but his involvement in the anti-vaccine movement increased after the pandemic and the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The guitarist (pictured performing in Hollywood in 2021) has written songs in recent years condemning Covid vaccines and even compared the lockdowns to slavery.
His anti-vaccine charity, Children’s Health Defense, was thriving at the time, with revenues more than doubling to $6.8 million in 2020, according to documents filed with charity regulators.
His organization has targeted false claims against groups that may be more likely to mistrust the vaccine, including mothers and Black Americans, experts say, which could have led to deaths during the pandemic.
Kennedy Jr. released a book in 2021, The Real Anthony Fauci, in which he accused the top US infectious disease doctor of aiding “a historic coup against Western democracy” by promoting unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin. intended to treat parasites, and the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
His fight against the COVID-19 vaccine has at times linked him to anti-democratic figures and groups.
Kennedy Jr. has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and among people cheering or downplaying the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Kennedy Jr has sometimes invoked his family’s legacy in his anti-vaccine work, sometimes using images of President John F Kennedy.
His sister Kerry Kennedy, who heads Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights organization founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has sometimes removed some of the content at her request.
She told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview her brother is “completely wrong on this matter and very dangerous.”
Kennedy Jr. has also continued to insist that he should receive Secret Service protection because he claims he could be assassinated.
On Monday, Kennedy Jr. appealed to Biden for protection after an armed gunman was arrested last weekend at his campaign event — just two miles from where his father was killed in 1968. The suspect was arrested by police after claiming to be with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s security team
Kennedy Jr., 69, has repeatedly claimed that the CIA was involved in the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy (pictured) in Dallas, Texas, in 1963
On Monday, Kennedy Jr. appealed to Biden for protection after an armed gunman was arrested at his campaign event last weekend – just two miles from where his father was killed in 1968.
“The threat level to our candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., increases every day. He is not the only one in danger: anyone attending a campaign event is in danger,” Kennedy campaign manager Dennis Kucinich wrote to the president.
Kucinich referenced the armed gunman arrested this weekend and the history of assassinations of political figures in his post. Kennedy’s father – Robert Kennedy – was shot in Los Angeles in 1968, and his uncle John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963.
