Known as an avid environmental lawyer, and even more for his conspiracies on vaccines, Robert F. Kennedy made the headlines this week for suspending his candidacy for president.
In April 2023, Robert F. Kennedy announced his Democratic primary bid for US president. It seems this was his destiny, to follow in his uncle's footsteps. Except maybe President John F. Kennedy's shoes were too big to fill (is size 10 too big?). In October 2023, RFK Jr. announced a party switch from Democrat to Independent. He claimed it was his "[declaration of] independence from the journey of corruption." Whether this was a move to spite the Democrats for their supposed "rigging" of the primaries, or one made truly to fight the big corporate corruption plaguing the US, it has presented issues to both sides of the race.
Upon this announcement, Democrats and Republicans both feared RFK Jr.'s presidency. They saw him as a threat, a candidate to steal percentage points away from their respective candidates, as all independents have done, historically. Shamelessly, Kennedy remarks at his party switch announcement, "The truth is [the Democrats and Republicans are] both right. My intention is to spoil it for both of them."
How curious does this statement become when a week ago, Robert F. Kennedy suspended his race due to his "tumultuous independent presidential campaign", as described by NBC News, and then crawled to former president Donald Trump offering his endorsement. Trump welcomed RFK Jr. with open arms at his rally in Phoenix, Arizona, introducing him with "My Hero" by the Foo Fighters blasting in the back. Together, they mentioned their differences but emphasized their similarities. Even more, they spoke of one another in great reverence, as if they had been on the same side all along.
Donald Trump, the pro-life billionaire and corporate titan is now Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s best friend. According to RFK Jr.'s running mate, Nicole Shanahan RFK Jr. might join the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services should Trump get elected. RFK Jr., who has always preached "We the people" and not "We the corporations", as well as "pro-choice" and not "pro-life," has now compromised his morals to reach some self-serving, power-grabbing goal, but so it goes in the world of politics. It seems nepotism didn't work for RFK Jr., so he resorted to being in cahoots with his rival to win the game of politics. A sacrifice of policy for power.
But, then again, maybe RFK Jr. and Trump aren't so dissimilar. After the assassination attempt on Trump's life, RFK Jr. said he and Trump talked for hours, and that "he found they had more in common than he believed after several sessions." Trump is also known for distrusting vaccines, especially during the pandemic. Not a surprise, then, that he would appoint RFK Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health of Human Services.
Was this RFK Jr.'s plan all along? While originally a Democrat, Kennedy's polarizing views on vaccines and border control put him more right-leaning, appealing to more Republicans. Perhaps he entered this race with the intention of stealing votes for the GOP. Steve Contorno, Alayna Treene, and Aaron Pellish at CNN believe there is "hope within the former president's operation that Kennedy's exit could prove decisive." Yet Allan Lichtman on NewsNation believes that the "idea that [RFK Jr.] could somehow turn" votes to Trump is "absolute nonsense." Or perhaps he believed his party switch could finally dismantle the two-party system. Bo Snerdley on NewsNation argues fervently that all RFK Jr. has to do is perform well in 7-8 battleground states to win the election. However, as previous races have shown, no Independent candidate has done this so far in a presidential election. It begs the question of the intentions of all Independent presidential candidates. Granted, not all are quite as eccentric or unreliable as our conspiracist Mr. Kennedy, but do they all really believe they can win? Do we as Americans believe they can win?
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trumps-appears-at-a-campaign-rally-for-first-appearance-following-democratic-convention
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/3-things-to-know-about-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-decision-to-suspend-his-campaign
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-drops-his-democratic-primary-bid-will-run-as-an-independent
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rfk-jrs-switch-independent-campaign-draws-criticism-republicans/story?id=103860523
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy5ekxlwzgo
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/robert-f-kennedy-headed-breakup-democratic-party-rcna118646
https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/rfk-jr-trump-harris-allan-lichtman/
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article291481195.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/politics/robert-kennedy-president-trump/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-says-court-filing-endorsing-trump-ending-presidential-hopes-rcna165936
3 comments:
I think RFK Jr.'s recent political moves highlight the nature of American politics, where power often trumps policy. His shift from a Democrat to an Independent, and now his endorsement of Trump, seems less about challenging corruption and more about positioning himself strategically within politics.
I think Americans generally don't believe that independents can win because of the overwhelming power of the "main two" parties (Democrats and Republicans). Even when an independent candidate aligns with our interests, the dominance of these two parties makes voting for an independent feel like a wasted vote. Especially in a system where the nation's leadership is on the line, many voters prefer to back a candidate with a realistic chance of winning, rather than risk "throwing away" their vote on someone who has little chance of winning. I think RFK Jr.'s campaign, ultimately, reflects this harsh reality.
It seems that both the democratic and republican primary candidates didn’t exactly know where Kennedy stood earlier in the year, but now with Joe Biden out and Kamala in, Trump has taken the opportunity to rally Kennedy to his side. Historically, independent parties barely make a dent in the majority of votes, however, Kennedy has a fairly large following, and it’s clear that Trump saw that and used it for himself. While both parties initially pictured Kennedy as a spy or silent endorsement for the other side, or possibly even a threat on his own, Trump has only had more conversations on the phone and in person with Trump, cementing his inclination to endorse the Republican party.
Like we read in the All I know is what I read in the papers article by Chuck Klosterman, much of the press and reporters, what reporters can report on is dependent on not only what is deemed relevant but also shaped around which side responds first. In this case, Kennedy did the same thing. He reached out to both administrations and received the first reply from Trump, and no reply from the Harris Administration.
It is unlikely he was trying to dismantle the two party system but rather use his indecisiveness and his followers (many of whom are swing voters each election) as a political stunt to win him over more relatability or to get in the press by making one of the primary candidates try to woo him over to their side.
A democracy is supposed to represent citizens’ beliefs in government policies, however, most Americans don’t agree 100% with everything a political leader says. Usually Democrats vote blue because the candidate aligns with some or most of their views and Republicans likewise. The same can be said with government leaders; politicians and government officials back candidates, take the presidential campaigns for example, despite their political agendas not perfectly aligning. With RFK Jr., I wonder at what point did he decide his policy agendas deviated too far from Democratic and Republican views that he decided to run as Independent, and at what point did he realize that he could sacrifice some of these views to back Trump. It seems that because his campaign wasn’t working out too well, he allowed some of his beliefs to waver, and thus I’m skeptical of how significant his original presidential agenda was to him.
I find this situation slightly amusing because Trump and RFK Jr. are seemingly “buddy-buddy” now since they both talk each other up, when not long ago they were competitors. I have a hard time believing significant differing opinions can just go away, but perhaps they were just suppressed for the name of the game.
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