Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the Libertarian Caucus Convention on Friday, criticizing former President Trump’s administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kennedy argued that the former president and his administration violated people’s First Amendment rights when they enacted health guidelines to combat COVID-19.
“I think he had the right instincts when he took office. He was very reluctant initially to impose lockdowns and then he caved in to the bureaucrats. He caved in and many of our most basic rights disappeared almost overnight,” Kennedy said at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington.
“President Trump authorized health officials to mandate scientifically unfounded social distancing measures that undermine our First Amendment right to free assembly. We can no longer peacefully assemble,” he later said.
Kennedy’s comments were some of the most scathing anti-Trump comments to date. He is widely seen as an underdog in a presidential race between Trump and Biden, but recent polls suggest he could be an obstacle to Trump in November’s election.
Kennedy spent much of his speech accusing Trump and Biden of violating Americans’ rights and constitutional freedoms, and said he would do more to protect people’s rights of free speech and assembly.
Both Kennedy and Trump are scheduled to speak at the convention, with the former president delivering his speech on Saturday.
The Trump administration imposed strict restrictions aimed at curbing social gatherings, nonessential travel and in-person business during the early days of the pandemic, as COVID-19 infections and deaths soared. The president and health officials frequently clashed over how to best manage the pandemic, including which facilities should be open and who should be allowed inside.
While the president has supported churches reopening, states have created their own guidelines and a patchwork of different rules for responding to COVID-19, resulting in differing procedures for when to reopen businesses, schools, and other institutions.
Anthony Fauci, who served as the White House’s chief medical adviser during the pandemic, has been a frequent target of Republicans, including President Trump, who believe health officials have overstepped health guidelines.
During his own presidential campaign, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) criticized the former president for his response to the pandemic and his failure to fire Fauci.
“President Trump said he would run America like a business, then after taking office he handed the keys to all of our businesses to a 50-year bureaucrat who never ran for office and who is never accountable for anything,” Kennedy said, alleging that Trump has shut down millions of businesses “without due process or compensation and in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”
“By ordering lockdowns and widespread travel restrictions, President Trump has presided over policies that restrict individual freedoms to a degree never before seen in this country,” he added.
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