Kemper rode in front of the bus and multitasked, deftly maneuvering his giant vehicle through crowds of people and narrow alleys. In his spare time, he tossed Kennedy reading material to people passing by on the sidewalks as part of his “guerrilla marketing” strategy.
Though Kemper and Nichols became fast friends, it wasn’t until a few months ago that Nichols got on the bus. It was Kennedy’s live-streamed response to the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump that secured his support. “That’s when I saw a path forward — a long shot, but a path forward.”
“We respond to hate with good vibes… we keep the good vibes… and we apply them,” Nichols says. “The plan is to raise awareness.”
As the bus pulled into a park two blocks from the United Center, where thousands of people had gathered to protest Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza, Nichols shared his point. “You always have to start by finding common ground,” he explained simply. The moment the bus stopped, a crowd of about two dozen journalists and protesters rushed them, cameras at the ready.
Kemper quickly changed the song playing on the loudspeaker to Jackie DeShannon’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” “What are you doing?” one protester asked antagonistically. “We’re interacting,” Nichols calmly replied. This is the strategy: counteract negativity with smiles and good vibes.
Surprisingly, it seems to be working. What the protesters initially perceived as potentially antagonistic began to arouse more curiosity the longer the bus was delayed. People began asking for T-shirts and caps, and the bus became a source of fun and interest rather than anger.
“The most important thing to me is that we learn to talk and respect each other,” Nichols said as the bus pulled away. “I love you, even if you think I’m a jerk with brain worms.”
Good vibes were never enough to support Kennedy’s campaign. The next day, Kennedy dropped out of the race and endorsed former President Donald Trump. For most, this was the end of Kennedy’s presidential ambitions. For the bus boys, it was just the beginning.
“Kyle and I are actually pretty excited,” Nichols wrote to Dhruv after the announcement. “By staying on the ballot in all but the battleground states, Bobby preserves the option for a majority of Americans who would otherwise have no political home to vote against the one-party disaster without worrying about ruining their preference for the ‘lesser evil,’ leaving room for a last-minute surge of support. I can work with that.”
Dhruv Mehrotra co-wrote this report.
The chat room
I’m Vittoria Elliott, a journalist who covers tech platforms and power in politics. This week, I published a piece about how online astrologers are talking (and making predictions) about the 2024 presidential election. In recent years, astrology has become increasingly popular, thanks in part to young people looking for a spiritual home outside of traditional organized religion. But something that definitely caught my attention while writing this piece was the role that social media platforms have played.
Astrological content often falls under the umbrella of spirituality or wellness, two categories that get a lot of attention (fitness influencers! Crystals! Smoothies! Energy work!). These topics aren’t overtly political, and many platforms don’t view them as such, which largely works to their advantage. Earlier this year, Meta announced that Threads and Instagram wouldn’t recommend political content.
