Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has canceled planned campaign events, citing “growing safety concerns,” his campaign said Wednesday.
Kennedy, 70, had been scheduled to appear at the Des Moines Register’s political podium at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday afternoon but canceled the appearance because the outdoor venue posed increased risks to his safety.
“We were unable to secure an indoor venue stage that would meet the security requirements to keep Kennedy safe,” a campaign official told The Washington Post.
of The Des Moines Register The paper was the first to report that Kennedy had canceled his speech at the media fair event, noting that he was one of 10 political candidates scheduled to speak.
The paper’s editor-in-chief, Carol Hunter, said she had not heard of any specific threats against Kennedy and that the campaign’s concerns about having a candidate appear at an outdoor event in a crowded venue were “understandable.”
Kennedy has faced death threats and stalking since seeking the White House and had long sought Secret Service protection, but was finally granted it by the Biden administration last month after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, 78.
His father and uncle, former New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy and former President John F. Kennedy, were both shot and killed by assassins in the 1960s.
The Secret Service reportedly urged the Trump campaign to scrap plans for outdoor events following the July 13 shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump, 78, vowed in an interview with Fox News last month to continue holding outdoor rallies, but all of his rallies have been held indoors since the assassination attempt.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, held an outdoor rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.
Kennedy made headlines this week after admitting on Sunday that in 2014 he dumped a dead bear in New York’s Central Park, disposing of it by making it look like it had been hit by a bicyclist.
According to an average of national surveys by FiveThirtyEight, independent candidates have a 5.3% approval rating in the 2024 presidential election.
