Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is vying for the presidential nomination as an independent candidate, not as a Democrat.
While giving his speech Monday outside of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kennedy touted how voters were “fed-up” and have told him that they were ready for a “history-making change.” Kennedy announced in April he was launching a campaign to unseat President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“The good news is that people like yourselves are finally fed-up,” Kennedy told the crowd. “Something is stirring in us that says it doesn’t have to be this way. People stop me everywhere — in airports, at hotels, in malls, on the street — and they remind me that this country is ready for history-making change. They are ready to reclaim their freedom, their independence. And that’s why I’m here today. I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate. An independent candidate for president of the United States.”
Join Me For A Historic Announcement https://t.co/O8a3TDaPus
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 9, 2023
“I’m here to join you in making a new declaration of independence for our entire nation,” Kennedy added. “We declare independence from the corporations that have hijacked our government. We declare independence from Wall Street, from big tech, from big pharma, from big AG (agriculture), from the military contractors and their lobbyists.”
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and vaccine critic, has spoken out against the mainstream media and elites of the Democratic and Republican parties.
The presidential hopeful criticized the Democratic National Committee for wanting to move New Hampshire’s primary to fifth place instead of its usual first place. Instead, South Carolina would have the first primary.
In regards to issues such as the COVID-19 vaccine, the war in Ukraine, and social media censorship, Kennedy has tended to split ways with the Democratic Party.
Kennedy told the crowd that when he began listening to people who “weren’t on either side” of the political parties about issues, his views began to change.
“Six months ago, I thought that an open border was a humanitarian policy and that if you were for sealing the border, it meant that you were probably a xenophobe and maybe a racist,” Kennedy told the crowd. “I was wrong. How did I learn I was wrong? It wasn’t just that I listened to the other side, it was when I actually visited the border and listened to people who weren’t on either side.”
Kennedy joins other independent candidates such as Cornel West, an American philosopher and activist, and Chase Oliver, a former libertarian candidate in the 2022 Georgia Senate race.
A poll from Echelon Insights conducted between Sept. 25-28, showed that 58% of voters would support Biden, 18% for Kennedy, and 4% for Marianne Williamson, a former Democratic presidential candidate.
Another poll from The Messenger conducted between Sept. 28-29 showed 61% of voters would support Biden, 16% would support Kennedy, and 5% would vote for Williamson.
Reuters reported on Monday Kennedy’s siblings — Kerry Kennedy, Rory Kennedy and Joseph Kennedy II — denounced their brother’s candidacy in a statement: “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us.”
Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, was running a long-shot primary bid and fares better among Republicans than Democrats. It’s unclear whether GOP support would translate to a general election when Kennedy would also be running against Trump. Biden and Trump camps have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate, the Associated Press reported.
Kennedy is a son of Robert Kennedy Sr., who served as U.S attorney general during his brother’s, John F. Kennedy’s, presidency.
