The third runner
The independent candidate, known for his anti-vaccine stand and conspiracy theories, wants to ‘break’ America’s two-party system
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. authored ‘A Letter to Liberals’. He feared the “pharma cartel” was manipulating COVID-19 management, and the governments were bullies whose hallmark became “cancel culture”. The 120-page booklet was a lament. The Democratic Party should return to its roots, the storied FDR/JFK liberalism, which “prided itself on its open-minded tolerance of contrary opinion... and its fearless love for contention and disputation”.
RFK Jr., as he is widely known, wants to lead by example. When the Kennedy clan decided to endorse incumbent Joe Biden in the November elections, there was little resentment. “I am pleased they are politically active — it’s a family tradition,” RFK Jr., who is standing in the presidential election as an independent, wrote on ◣. The 70year-old might be a namesake to Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. Attorney General, but “he does not share the same values, vision or judgment”, according to his siblings. But this does not dishearten RFK Jr. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”, and this “healing” is possible for America too.
The Kennedy campaign of 2024 is built on similar contentions and contradictions. He is a Democrat and an environmentalist, spouting anti-vaccine sentiments to a rousing Republican voter base. Fear grows this “spoiler” may peel away votes from Mr. Biden and the Republican nominee Donald Trump. Anything goes, he says, to “break the two-party system”.
A puzzling pitch
RFK Jr. is a political enigma. He wants to “reclaim” the Democratic Party while sustaining links with far-right gures. The Great American Evils are corporate “elites”, says RFK Jr., a millionaire hailing from the Great American Family. He identies himself as “pro-choice”, but abortion is a “tragedy”. He refutes the anti-vaccine label, before spewing misinformed, debunked ideas that vaccines can cause autism.
RFK Jr. insists his “populist movement dees leftright division”; the anger and aggression are a distant echo of Mr. Trump’s rabble-rousing politics. The media is a “mercenary” operation, “here to fortify all of the corporate orthodoxies from their advertisers”; the “corporate capture” of the government is the root of American despair. On immigration, he thinks Mr. Biden has failed to manage the illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has also opposed Mr. Trump’s plan to build a wall, while vowing to “close the border” if elected.
His policies include cutting military expenses, xing economic inequality, reducing student debt, and freeing the American people from the clutches of Wall Street.
History is not kind to third-party candidates, but the Kennedy candidacy could become a “spoiler” in the decidedly close race between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. To Mr. Trump, RFK Jr. is a “Democrat ‘Plant’”. The Democratic National Committee has set up a war room to deal with “third-party threats” such as Mr. Kennedy.
The potential spoiler faces pushback from the Kennedy family. A Kennedy name on the ballot, the siblings fear, would make Democrats feel “torn” between the nephew of former President JFK and the incumbent Mr. Biden. The family is thus bolstering Mr. Biden’s re-election bid.
RFK Jr.'s “misguided stands on issues, his poor judgement, and tenuous relationship with the truth” make him unt for the presidency, his cousin Stephen Kennedy Smith said. The family line is clear: RFK Jr.’s bid is “dangerous to the country”. He is “trading in on Camelot celebrity conspiracy theories and con¦ict for personal gain and fame,” wrote JFK’s grandson Jack Schlossberg (King Arthur’s castle Camelot has become a metaphor for the Kennedy dynasty in his rallies). “Let’s not be distracted again by somebody’s vanity project."
Distraction is RFK Jr.’s design. To the victor belong the spoils, the saying goes, but the third candidate is happy to set alight the treasures. He wants to “spoil [the race] for both of them [Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden]” and take the ravaged Americans “over the castle walls together”.