Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for the post of the US president from the ranks of the Democrats, however, his peculiar conspiracy theories and unusual support from the rights have raised questions about the politician’s motivation, writes the BBC.
Kennedy has apologized for the remarks that led to the understanding that Covid-19 was created to affect certain ethnic groups. Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese have practically not been affected by the virus. Now the politician has stated that he never said that the ethnic impression of the virus was created on purpose”. He claimed he had been defamed and cited a study that looked at the relationship between genetically determined characteristics of people and the transmission of the virus.
However, the author of the study stated that it found nothing to support Kennedy’s claims.
The lawyer once hailed as an expert on environmental issues, has spent the past two decades campaigning against vaccines and
last year called measures to contain the pandemic “fascism not seen even in Hitler’s Germany.”
Despite his eccentric image, the 69-year-old Kennedy has the support of 21% of Americans, and that support remains despite only a few campaign events. This shows some dissatisfaction among Democratic supporters with current President Joe Biden. However, a part of the popularity can also be attributed to the candidate’s famous surname. He is the son of former US President John F Kennedy’s brother.
Democratic strategist Kevin Walling told the BBC that Kennedy’s strong poll results were a combination of nostalgia for the Kennedy family and a lack of awareness of Kennedy’s views. Welling pointed out that support is shrinking as more Democrats understand Kennedy’s controversial views.
The Biden camp has long ignored the rival, however, on Monday, the 17th of July, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that
Kennedy’s comments about the different effects of the virus on different ethnic groups are malicious
and put Americans in danger. Other representatives of the Democratic Party also distanced themselves from Kennedy’s remarks.
Representatives of the Kennedy family have been keeping a distance from the views of the lawyer and the politician for years. His sister Carrie wrote on the 17th of July that she strongly condemns her brother’s remarks.
Another dubious issue is the unusually close ties of the Kennedy family’s black sheep to the branch of the Republican Party that supports former US President Donald Trump.
CBS reported in March that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon had been encouraging Kennedy to run for president for months because
he could be both a good creator of chaos in the 2024 election and successful in spreading anti-vaxxer propaganda
across the country. Trump himself also praised Kennedy in June, calling him a very smart and very good person.
Kennedy’s campaign receives extensive and friendly coverage on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets. According to data submitted to the Federal Election Commission on the 15th of July, Kennedy’s campaign received substantial support from donors who are usually on the Republican side. Welling said: “Only 20% of his donors identify as Democratic donors, while nearly 40% have a track record of giving more to [Republican] candidates and causes.” He added that it was clear that Republicans were backing Kennedy to try to weaken Biden’s chances before the election.
While Kennedy’s fundraising haul is larger than that of some Republican presumptive candidates, it is still far less than Biden’s haul. Democratic strategist Mark Longabaugh said Kennedy would not take the Democratic nomination away from Biden, nor would he pose a significant threat. He will just make a lot of noise and say the most ridiculous things to keep drawing attention to himself.
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