Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccination campaigner, has submitted his paperwork to the Federal Election Commission in order to run for president of the United States as a Democrat in 2024.
John E. Sullivan, treasurer of his campaign, confirmed the filing on Wednesday 5 April.
The 69-year-old is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy a senator from New York US attorney general, and a presidential candidate who was killed in 1968.
Kennedy Jr. has been a vaccination skeptic for a long time. He started the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and spread debunked theories about vaccines with autism. He has also spoken out against the coronavirus vaccine and the government’s response to the outbreak.
In an op-ed for Politico Magazine published in 2019, three members of his family—his sister Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, brother Joseph P. Kennedy II and niece Maeve Kennedy McKean—strongly denounced his anti-vaccine views, arguing that he was “part of a misinformation campaign that’s having heartbreaking – and deadly consequences.”
At an anti-vaccination rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, Kennedy Jr. 2022 made a reference to Nazi Germany. Due to his “frequent dissemination of disproved claims concerning the coronavirus or immunizations,” Instagram banned him the year prior.
Last month, Kennedy hinted on Twitter that he was thinking about running for president.
“If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race,” he said.
His tweet also pointed supporters to his website: “Let Bobby know you want to see his leadership in the White House,” the site says while asking for donations.
Kennedy, an environmental attorney, participated in the effort to clean up the Hudson River. He also helped establish an environmental legal company and worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
If he runs for president, Kennedy would follow in the footsteps of many other members of his family.
Kathleen, his sibling, was Maryland’s lieutenant governor from 1995 until 2003. From 1987 until 1999, his sibling Joseph served as a congressman for Massachusetts. Chris Kennedy, his sibling, ran for governor of Illinois in 2018 but ultimately fell short.
Have a look at this below tweet about the Kennedy presidency:
JUST IN: Robert Kennedy Jr. has officially announced that he is running for President of the United States and will challenge Joe Biden for the Democrat nomination.
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) April 5, 2023
His nephew, former Massachusetts Representative Joe Kennedy III, was the last member of the family to serve in public service before he was defeated in a 2020 Democratic Senate primary. The current US ambassador to Australia is Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy.
The 2024 Democratic presidential contest is just getting started, with President Joseph Biden likely to declare his candidacy. In a second long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination, author Marianne Williamson kicked off her campaign last month.
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When former President Donald Trump declared his third run for the White House last year, he sparked a frenzy for the Republican candidacy. Several well-known candidates, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, are considering runs as well. These candidates include former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
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