Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hugs his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, at a campaign rally in Philadelphia this Monday.MARK MAKELA (Portal)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., heir to the American political dynasty, announced Monday that he is leaving the Democratic Party to run for the White House as an independent. Kennedy, a loose verse in his formation who has been heavily criticized for, among other things, his opposition to vaccination against Covid, is trying to give new impetus to his flagging candidacy for the White House, one of the few who have challenged Joe Biden’s leadership in the party to award the blue primary (the color with which the Democrats are identified) of 2024.
“I am here to declare myself an independent candidate,” Kennedy told a crowd of supporters gathered in Philadelphia. “I have to declare my independence. Independence from the Democratic Party,” he said to cheers. “And from all other political parties.”
American Values 2024, a super PAC (political action committee) supporting the candidate, has so far raised $17 million, according to the Portal agency. That’s almost double the 10 million his candidacy reached in July. Kennedy’s campaign hopes to raise another $10 million after Monday’s announcement.
A trained environmental lawyer, son of the former senator of the same name who was assassinated in 1968, and a willing spreader of false news, Kennedy has not succeeded in reducing support for Biden since he launched his candidacy in the spring, but has succeeded in disbanding initiatives such as a “label-free” Platform or a third way between Republicans and Democrats could undermine the waning popularity of the Democratic president, whom many, including a growing number of coreligionists, consider unfit to serve a second term due to his advanced age (80 years).
With just over a year until the presidential election and the impending start of the primary, Kennedy will be able to run as an independent, challenge both Biden and former President Donald Trump, the current favorite for the Republican nomination in 2024, and Relying on his anti-establishment platform and, most importantly, circumventing the rules of both parties’ primaries, as digital political weekly The Hill highlights.
Kennedy, 69, has been leading an outsider campaign since April in which he has openly pushed conspiracy theories rejected by Democrats in power and even some traditional Republicans – more moderate than Trump – particularly regarding vaccines, aspects of the American one political history and the neutrality of the USA current presidential primary election process. He also made racist statements that had no scientific basis, such as that Jews and Chinese were immune to the coronavirus, which earned him criticism from both sides of the political spectrum at the time.
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His decision theoretically brings him closer to voters who are dissatisfied with both political parties, pursue overly partisan politics and want an alternative to the expected bipolar Biden versus Trump or vice versa options in November. “People suspect that the divisions are being deliberately orchestrated,” he said today in Philadelphia. “They are tired of being deceived and are ready to take back power.”
Although Kennedy comes from a well-known liberal family, he has distanced himself from this trend and received significantly more praise and support from conservatives than from Democrats. However, he is not the only free verse within Biden’s party: the rebellious Senator Joe Munchin, who has torpedoed numerous legislative initiatives in his group, is considered the most Republican of the Democrats in Washington. Munchin’s former counterpart, Senator Kirsten Sinema, also known for her criticism and reticence toward Biden, finally registered as an independent in the Senate in December, making it even more difficult for her former party to control the lower house.
There was concern among the Democratic leadership about Kennedy’s move. They feared that his campaign could benefit Trump if he convinced enough undecided voters to support him, even though his chances of winning in November 2024 are nil. But Republicans are also wondering the same thing, concerned about the possibility that this could also steal votes from Trump and indirectly boost Biden.
Kennedy’s move comes after another candidate, progressive Professor Cornel West, said last week that he would also run as an independent. West was a Green Party candidate ideologically to the left of Kennedy, and his entry into the race sparked similar concerns about a decline in support for Biden over Trump, with nearly all polls predicting a very close race in 2024.
According to polls, voters are more interested in Kennedy than in other independent or third-party candidates when the election is called. A recent Portal/Ipsos poll found Kennedy supported by 14% of likely voters, a very significant percentage compared to Trump’s 40%, who is embroiled in a massive judicial offensive, and Biden’s 38%.
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