Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to spark a spoiler in the 2024 presidential election.in poll In a poll conducted late last year, he had the support of 22 percent of respondents, more independent voters than either President Biden or former President Trump. In January, Gallup reported Fifty-two percent of Americans view him favorably, higher than Biden (41%) and Trump (42%).
These results undoubtedly reflect the popularity of Kennedy’s name and the dissatisfaction of potential major party candidates. RFK Jr. has not faced the intense public scrutiny that presidential candidates are bound to undergo. The time has come to begin a movement based on lies, irresponsibility, and self-contradiction.
Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, helped win a $289 million judgment against Monsanto in 2015 for a terminally ill groundskeeper. 2018 against the use of herbicides associated with cancer; maintain He said, “I can read the science myself, so I don’t necessarily believe all scientists. That’s what I do for a living.” have ignored evidence that contradicts their views in favor of junk “science.”
Kennedy is declaredWithout evidence, government officials knew vaccines caused autism but “deliberately allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children.” Vaccines are “the only medical products that have not been tested for safety before being licensed.”Chemicals contained in water are “narcotics” The kids affect transgender identity; Wi-Fi and 5G cause cancer. HIV is not the only true cause of AIDS. After the widespread use of Prozac and other antidepressants, more school shootings occurred. The coronavirus vaccine contains a microchip to track individuals and is the “most lethal vaccine ever created.” The new coronavirus “targets whites and blacks, and Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people are the most immune.”
A short list of Kennedy’s irresponsible and fact-poor statements includes: In 1976, members of the House committee investigating the assassination of his uncle, John F. I found evidence of this. In 2004, a “massive concerted effort” by Republicans stripped John Kerry of the 350,000 votes cast in Ohio and stripped him of the presidency. Dr. Anthony Fauci was participating in a “historic coup against Western democracies.”
President Kennedy protested coronavirus-related public health mandates, saying, “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank.” ” Among the many who criticized the analogy was Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines. called it “Reprehensible insensitivity.”
On the campaign trail, Kennedy has challenged his image as an anti-establishment orthodoxy by making a series of “two-way arguments” on hot-button issues, perhaps to win support from voters across the ideological spectrum. .
Early on, he said He said anyone who wants to close the U.S.-Mexico border is “probably xenophobic and probably racist.” In a recent conversation with Elon Musk, he said: promised “We are trying to create a policy that permanently closes the borders.”
In 2018, Kennedy characterized the National Rifle Association as a “terrorist group.” He now says, “As president, I will respect the Second Amendment.”
Kennedy is Said The United States “supports Ukraine for all the right reasons, because we have great sympathy for the Ukrainian people, their illegal aggression, their atrocities, and their bravery and bravery,” he said. he also claimed As part of America’s “grand strategic plan” to oust Vladimir Putin and “destroy countries like Russia that resist American imperial expansion,” he said, “we will be there and kill many Ukrainians.” I’m killing him,” he claimed. And he indicated that as president, he would not provide additional military aid to Ukraine.
After frequently expressing support for a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion, Kennedy shown In an interview at the Iowa State Fair in the summer of 2023, she said she plans to sign a law banning abortions after the third month of pregnancy.His camp immediately released damage control. statement Kennedy suggested that he had misunderstood the question in a noisy, crowded environment and reiterated his view that “the government already intrudes too much on the lives of civilians.” but, transcript The content of the interviews casts doubt on this explanation.
Question: “If you were president, would you sign a federal safeguards agreement to protect the rights set forth in Roe?” Answer: “The decision of whether to abort a child is up to the woman herself within three months of birth.” I think we should decide.” Question: “So does that mean we’ll cap it at 15 weeks?” Answer: “Yes.” Question: “Or 21 weeks?” Answer: “Yes, 3 months.” ” Question: “So if I had three months, would I sign up for the federal cap?” Answer: “Yes, I would.”
Understandably, the Kennedy family is distressed and angry at RFK Jr.’s actions. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of John F. Kennedy; Said “He trades on Camelot, celebrities, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and prestige. I’ve heard his stories. I know him. Why he should be president. I don’t know why anyone would think that.”
Glenn C. Altshuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Cornell University.
