Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a statement of candidacy earlier in April with the Federal Election Commission, and formally kicked off his campaign in Boston last Wednesday.
The 69-year-old son of Robert Kennedy, former U.S. attorney general, and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated, will be running as a Democrat and challenging President Biden in the 2024 election. Polls show Kennedy starts out with double-digit support from Biden supporters.
“I’ve come here today to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States,” Kennedy said during his announcement. “My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening... to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country.
“We have a polarization in this country today that is so toxic and so dangerous ... since the Civil War, One of the principal missions of my campaign and of my presidency is going to be to end that division.”
Kennedy, on Twitter, said, “Give me a sword. I need an army, and it can’t just be the Party. I need Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. I won’t pretend to agree with you on every position. But I would make America a safe place to debate your positions and I will give you an ear and open mind.”
Kennedy will be running as a Democrat and campaigning on a platform of fighting for the “liberties guaranteed by the Constitution,” according to his campaign website.
Kennedy said in his speech that “corporate feudalism” in the country commodifies children, harms people with chemicals and prescription drugs and weakens the middle class. He highlighted polarization, blaming mergers of corporate power for “loving the fighting among us.”
Kennedy pointed out his continued efforts to battle corporate greed and government corruption and emphasizes protecting “our children, our health, our livelihoods, our environment, and above all, our freedom.”
During Kennedy’s campaign announcement, a voice came over the loudspeaker interrupting him, saying “an emergency has been reported in this building...” He just continued, to the cheers from the crowd.
Several surveys were already being conducted after his filing.
According to a new Morning Consult survey from before his official announcement, 10% of Democratic primary voters polled said they would vote for Kennedy. Among the party’s potential primary voters, 46% hold favorable views of the candidate.
USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found Kennedy has the support of 14% of voters who backed Biden in 2020.
Kennedy, who is not a stranger to backlash, was banned on Instagram and his anti-vaccine group was banned on Facebook, and he has faced an uphill battle against the federal government and pharma. Facebook briefly banned the live stream of his announcement on Facebook.
“This is what happens when you censor somebody for 18 years,” said Kennedy. “I got a lot a lot to talk about. They shouldn’t have shut me up for that long because now I’m really going to let loose on them for the next 18 months. They’re going to hear a lot from me.”