LAS VEGAS — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised a FreedomFest audience a “strong America” and a unified government aimed at ending decades of division.
“I am committed to appointing a cabinet made up of Democrats, Republicans, the Libertarian Party, and members of the Green Party and other parties, as well as parties outside the political process,” the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist told an audience at Caesars Forum.
He said he would “convene a bipartisan advisory committee to recommend and select Supreme Court justices” and “issue pardons and commutations to those prosecuted for political reasons.” [and] This includes Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road “dark net” website, who is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Kennedy promised a “true, full and unconditional pardon” to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who avoided prison after pleading guilty to one felony in a plea deal, and said he would also consider pardons or commutations for “former presidents and their families if the outstanding charges against them are found to be politically motivated.”
“The first thing I will do on my first day in office will be to issue an executive order declaring that any Federal employee who lies in connection with his or her official duties will lose their job,” Kennedy said on his first day in office.
He also said he would “order the intelligence agencies to stop propaganda against the American people.”
Kennedy vowed to use AI and blockchain technology to “make every government action and interaction transparent to the American people,” but did not provide details on how that would work.
He said neither President Biden nor former President Donald Trump can solve the crisis of division.
“Neither President Trump nor President Biden are ready to unite our country. In fact, their words and actions will only divide us further, and they won’t even challenge it,” Kennedy said.
The son of the assassinated New York state senator and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate impressed crowds with a street speech in Sin City at the annual event on Friday afternoon.
But a look at the handful of attendees at the venue where he delivered his impassioned speech suggested few supported his campaign.
“Our nation faces the greatest challenges in its history, and we cannot hope to meet those challenges as long as we are at odds with one another,” Kennedy said. “What do we need to do to make America strong from the inside out again? We need truth and unity.”
Kennedy said a lack of civics education in schools is one factor contributing to the division.
“We have to raise a generation of kids who understand that they have to fight to the death for these rights guaranteed in the Constitution,” he said. “They have to fight to the gates of hell, and they have to fight on the ice when hell freezes over.”
Julie Lynch of Pittsburgh, California, said Kennedy’s speech was impressive but not enough to make her leave the Trump campaign.
“I felt he knew the audience he was addressing and delivered the message they wanted to hear,” she said. “I’m a Trump supporter, so I won’t be voting for Robert Kennedy. He’s a liberal through and through, maybe a socialist. I agree with some of what he says, but I don’t think his overall philosophy is the America First approach that Trump seems to espouse.”
Amanda Ishmael, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said she won’t be voting for Kennedy.
“I don’t know much about him. I know what he’s campaigning on, but I liked his platform,” she said. “I’m going to vote Libertarian and I have to cast a rebellious protest vote.”
William Shaw, who moved to Austin, Texas, from northern Connecticut, said Kennedy’s message may have been inappropriate for the FreedomFest crowd.
“I like the message of trying to form a unity government,” he said, “and I think it was a strange pairing for this audience, given the strong nature of this event, at least in line with the Libertarian Party.”
Shaw said he would probably vote for the Libertarian Party in Texas, but might vote for RFK Jr. “to get more votes.”
