Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Challenge Biden for Democratic Nomination
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy, has announced that he will be running for the Democratic nomination for US president in 2024....
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Facts
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy, has announced that he will be running for the Democratic nomination for US president in 2024.1
- Kennedy, 69, filed a statement for candidacy on Wednesday with the Federal Electoral Commission. The son of the also-assassinated Robert F. Kennedy tweeted in March that he was weighing his candidacy.2
- Kennedy is the second Democrat to officially run for the nomination, joining self-help author Marianne Williamson. He's a former environmental lawyer and a long-time self-characterized medical freedom activist, chairing the nonprofit group Children's Health Defense — an organization known for being critical of vaccines.3
- He published a book in late 2021 titled 'The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,' which included several controversial claims about Fauci, who he has accused of 'catastrophic mismanagement' of the COVID pandemic.4
- Kennedy has previously stated that his top priority would be to end what he has termed the 'corrupt merger' between state and corporate power and 'restore America's democracy.'5
- Current Pres. Joe Biden remains a strong favorite to once again hold the party's nomination and is expected to announce his bid for a second term.6
Sources: 1Associated Press, 2Al Jazeera, 3Politico, 4Thewrap, 5Independent and 6CNN.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Press. Kennedy's chances may be outside odds, however, the power of his family's name is undisputed. He has spent his life fighting for clean air and energy against corporate greed, and with many Americans preferring Biden to step aside, Kennedy's political ambition may have legs.
- Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Kennedy has been publicly denounced by public health experts and even members of his own family as promulgating dangerously misleading — and offensive — information. This isn't a man that should become the Democratic nominee for president. In fact, his ties to right-wing operatives and power brokers must be closely scrutinized.