Robert Kennedy Jr., the unlikely independent candidate for the US presidential election, is trying to charm Libertarian Party supporters by portraying his rivals Donald Trump and Joe Biden as enemies of individual liberty.
Kennedy, 70, has galvanized libertarians by promising to pardon whistleblower Edward Snowden, now in exile in Russia, and to drop espionage charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting a U.S. attempt to extradite him from Britain.
The Libertarian Party, founded in 1971, is committed to limiting the size and scope of government and won 1.2% of the national vote in the 2020 presidential election. But with this year’s race expected to be close, Kennedy, an anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist and environmental activist, and Republican candidate Trump are vying for votes at their party’s convention in Washington.
At the start of his 45-minute speech, Kennedy downplayed recent revelations that he had been infected with a brain bug more than a decade ago, accusing past leaders of repeatedly infringing on individual liberties leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. To cheers of applause, he said, “Maybe the brain bug has eaten away at that part of my memory, but I can’t recall there ever being an exception in the United States Constitution for a pandemic.”
Speaking before hundreds of delegates, Kennedy criticized Trump for allowing the government to infringe on individual freedoms during the pandemic. “I think he had the right instincts when he took office. He was very reluctant to impose lockdowns at first, and then he caved in to the bureaucrats. He caved, and many of our most fundamental rights disappeared almost overnight,” he said.
Kennedy drew further applause when he claimed, “All our constitutional rights have been trampled. All our churches have been closed, but Walmart and liquor stores have remained open.”. “
He blamed President Trump for closing 3.3 million businesses. “President Trump said he would run America like a business, but then he took office and handed the keys to all of our businesses to a 50-year bureaucrat who never ran for office and has never been held accountable for anything,” he said.
Kennedy touched the audience with his remarks about the espionage allegations against Assange, who this week won new rights to appeal his extradition, and National Security Agency whistleblower Snowden, who erupted in cheers and applause as he spoke.
“President Trump has violated the First Amendment and failed to protect freedom of the press during his presidency. [Barack] “Obama’s persecution and prosecution of Julian Assange should be celebrated as a hero,” he said. “Assange should be celebrated as a hero. He did what a journalist should do, which is expose government corruption. He should not be put in prison. There should be a monument to him here in Washington, D.C.”
“The same can be said about Edward Snowden. He is a hero, not a criminal. And I’m going to tell you what I will do. I will do what President Trump should have done. On day one of my presidency, I will pardon Edward Snowden and drop all charges against Julian Assange.”
The whole room erupted in cheers.
Kennedy has argued he is qualified to debate Biden and Trump, who have both previously agreed to two televised debates without him. Polls suggest Kennedy could steal votes from both men, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May showing 13 percent of respondents backing him.
He also took aim at the current president: “Since President Trump left office, the attacks on the Constitution have intensified. President Biden has violated freedoms so fundamental that James Madison never even considered including them in the Bill of Rights.”
Kennedy accused Biden of waging a “program of coercion and information censorship” during the pandemic, repeating unfounded allegations that Biden conspired with the FBI to coerce social media sites into allowing government agencies to carry out a “salacious orgy of federal censorship.” He said that ranged from “medical misinformation” to “Censorship-Industrial Complex“ It also stifles criticism of the war in Ukraine.
Coronavirus vaccines have been deemed safe and effective by the U.S. government and its regulators, as well as the World Health Organization. In the first two years of COVID vaccines, an estimated 3 million lives have been saved in the U.S. alone, the WHO reports. A study published by the Commonwealth Fund.
Kennedy has long been criticized for making false medical claims about vaccines. The son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while running for president in 1968, has come under fire from prominent family members who have publicly supported Biden. At Friday’s event, badges reminiscent of John F. Kennedy’s 1960s campaigns were placed on seats.
Kennedy, who picked wealthy lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate and is now officially running in seven states, has supported Israel and has questioned Biden’s support for a six-week ceasefire. On Friday, a delegate shouted, “Liberate Palestine! Liberate Palestine!” Kennedy responded, “I’d be happy to talk to you later.”
The candidate continued, pledging: “Murder cannot be tolerated anywhere, in any form, and that’s why I will end perpetual war — the wars that have bankrupted our nation and ruined our reputation abroad.” Cheers and screams of “Yay!” were heard.
Overall, Kennedy received a warm welcome at the convention and issued a challenge to Trump, who is scheduled to speak on Saturday night.
“He’s libertarian enough,” said Libertarian member Dan Belforti, wearing a “Kennedy 2024” T-shirt. “He’s better than the Libertarian Party on the environment. A true free market would price in the externalities of pollution, and the Libertarian Party hasn’t necessarily built that into their policies yet.”
Belforti, 60, a former financial adviser, congressional candidate and radio host, also praised Kennedy for his vaccine skepticism. “He’s right. It’s been well researched. I’m surprised that the US media, at least, has demonized him as an anti-vaccination extremist, when in fact he’s a very sensible, rational, reasonable guy. It just goes to show how powerful the pharmaceutical lobby is.”
But Belforti, who lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, disagrees with Kennedy on the issue of Gaza: “I don’t understand why he supports Israel’s response to terrorist attacks.” The world will understand that you want to enact some justice, but what’s going on right now is so excessive that I can’t support that policy. This is the only issue on which I think Bobby Kennedy in this room is weakest.”
Pendleton Spicer, 79, a musician and county elections official in Tucson, Arizona, said he won’t vote for Kennedy. “He doesn’t represent my beliefs. I feel like he’s buying into a narrative about how terrible climate change is, and I don’t agree with that narrative.”“
But she added: “I like his positions on health care. There is plenty of scientific evidence that vaccines are dangerous – as long as you maintain his position that we have freedom over our own bodies and the freedom to choose what we put into our bodies.”
Adrian Malagon, “He’s a very interesting guy. He has great ideas about medical freedom. There are some things I think are great about him. He doesn’t take all the libertarian positions, but he’s a fascinating guy. I’ve had the opportunity to meet him and talk to him and I really like him,” said John McCain, chairman of the Libertarian Party of California.
Kennedy’s appearance sparked protests from the progressive group MoveOn, which set up mobile signs around the Libertarian National Convention arguing that a vote for Kennedy was effectively a vote for Trump.
“We’re thrilled to be working with such a diverse group of people who have been elected to the National Election and National Election Day,” said Joel Payne, MoveOn’s chief communications officer for political campaigns. “As if we needed further evidence, Kennedy Jr. made it clear today that he should never be anywhere near the Oval Office. It’s no surprise to see Kennedy Jr. and Trump on the same stage this weekend. They already share the same views on restricting abortion access and spreading dangerous conspiracy theories.”
