Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday he is abandoning his bid for the Democratic nomination for the White House in 2024.
“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States,” Kennedy announced to a crowd of supporters at Independence Mall in Philadelphia. “We declare independence from the cynical elites who betray our hope and who amplify our divisions. And finally, we declare independence from the two political parties.”
His family name is almost synonymous with the Democratic Party, but Kennedy has determined that its primary nomination process was skewed in favor of President Joe Biden. That history, he said, made the decision personally painful for him.
Some members of the Kennedy family released a joint statement in response calling his announcement “deeply saddening” and “perilous for our country.”
It is true he was paid by the GOP to split the vote among Democrats, but I believe it has backfired if RFK Jr is running independent so soon into the election cycle. Several stories have come out about the GOP and Trump being worried about this move. Usually, federal abortion bans and right wing conspiracy theories don’t appeal to left wing voters the same way they appeal to right wing voters. Add the fact that there are so many right wing conspiracy theories that say that the Kennedy family will somehow save Trump and give him control of the government, at a time where it looks like trump will likely go to prison for the rest of his life, and Kennedy becomes a conservative super hero. Also, Kennedy was given time to speak during CPAC, which has given him exposure among conservatives in a way that he hasn’t received among left wing people.
There are a ton of reasons I am cautiously optimistic that RFK Jr. will end up tanking Trump or whoever Trump’s replacement will be if Trump ends up in prison before the election. I still plan on voting and encouraging others to vote despite this turn of events.
