Announced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, announced his official White House presentation Wednesday with a campaign kick-off event in Boston, along with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.
He noted how the United States would have a “really funny first lady” if elected, but also admitted that most of the Kennedy clan were not supportive of him running for the Democratic Party against President Joe Biden.
“There are other members of my family who aren’t here today,” the 69-year-old Kennedy scion said with a laugh, commenting that his family is like everyone else’s, in that they all don’t always see eye to eye. .
“I know most American families—they’ve never had any differences with each other,” he quipped.
He talked about how members of his family have “different views on politics in this country” and have “longstanding personal relationships with President Biden” — a number of Kennedys serving in the current administration.
Kennedy said they disagreed with him on issues such as government oversight, war and public health – a reference to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
The new candidate indicated that his family members wrote him “beautiful love letters” this week before his announcement, in addition to calling and e-mailing him: “I love them again.”
Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his bid for the White House official Wednesday with a campaign kick-off event in Boston, alongside his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.
A Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporter holds a “Heal The Divide” banner at the campaign kick-off party Wednesday in Boston, Massachusetts. She was wearing a MAGA-inspired hat that read “Hold Vaccine Manufacturers Accountable Again”
Kennedy said, “We have a polarization in this country today that is very toxic and very dangerous at any time since the Civil War.” “And part of the main mission of my campaign and of my presidency will be to end this divide.”
Kennedy added, “I’m going to try to do that by encouraging people to talk about the values we have in common, rather than the issues that divide us.”
Kennedy was introduced by Hines, of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame, and former Representative Dennis Kucinich, who had previously presented his own shows for the White House.
The former Ohio congressman said, “Hi, I’m Dennis Kucinich and I’m a Kennedy-Democrat.”
He referred to RJK Jr. as “Paul Revere in Our Time”.
“Going from one city to another, warning us if the water is clean to drink, warning us if our air is safe to breathe…warn us when our food is not safe to eat. Warning us when medicines are not safe to use,” Kocinich said.
Kennedy spent part of his speech talking about Revere’s trip, too, which happened 248 years ago this week.
He spent the opening moments of his speech talking about his family’s roots in Boston.
Kennedy’s official campaign began about two weeks after he filed papers about his plans to run with the Federal Election Commission.
Biden has not yet officially announced his re-election campaign, but earlier this month he said he “plans” to run for a second term.
Kennedy faced criticism from his relatives for repeatedly repeating bogus conspiracy theories that FDA-approved injections were not safe.
He also made the completely bogus claim that childhood vaccinations are linked to autism.
President John F. Kennedy’s nephew and son of murdered New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy was fired from Facebook in 2021.
The social media giant suspended its account as part of its campaign over what it said was misinformation about COVID-19.
Kennedy’s announcement of his candidacy for the White House would also bring his colorful personal life back into the spotlight.
A leaked copy of his diaries in 2001 contained sordid details of his string of cheating in which he spoke of his “devilish lust”.
They contained scorecards of more than two dozen sexual conquests behind his second wife’s back.
They bore the women’s names and the numbers 1-10 next to each entry.
The symbols correspond to sexual acts, 10 of which mean full sexual intercourse.
The father of six married his third wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, in 2014.
He asked his second wife, Mary, for a divorce in 2012.
Just four days later, the mother of four of his children—Connor, Vinnie, Kyra, and Aidan—was found hanged in her Mount Kisco, New York, home.
She was reportedly convinced RFK Jr was having an affair.
Hines was introduced to RFK Jr by Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Larry David in 2012
Robert F Kennedy Jr. is the son of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy (left), the late Attorney General and US Senator who was assassinated in 1968 during a presidential election. He is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963
Joe Biden has faced a dip in his popularity rating as the US economy struggles to emerge from the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic
His bid to become commander-in-chief wouldn’t be the first time a sitting Democrat has been challenged by someone from the Kennedy clan.
The late Senator Ted Kennedy took on President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980.
Carter, who was struggling with low approval ratings and a stagnant economy, defeated Kennedy’s bid but lost to Republican Ronald Reagan.
Biden also faces similar challenges as Carter.
Its popularity has waned after years of slow growth and rampant inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic.
As many as 52.3 percent of Americans say they disapprove of his presidency, according to FiveThirtyEight pollsters.
This is down from the 36% disapproval rating that Biden had when he took office in January 2021.
Kennedy entered the race with 14 percent of 2020 Biden supporters saying they would make him their choice, according to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday, ahead of Kennedy’s Boston announcement.
Other polls of Democratic and independent voters suggest Biden is too old to run again, but no senior member of his party has come forward to challenge him.
And only one elected president has ever lost his party’s nomination for a second term—Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, in 1852.
Self-help author Marianne Williamson joined Kennedy in the Democratic race.
Marianne Williamson, who faced accusations of bullying her staff during her previous presidential campaign in 2020, has announced plans to run in the Democratic primary against Joe Biden.
