#Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Aldous J. Pennyfarthing at Daily Kos:

Just two weeks after Donald Trump urged radical leftists to vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this November—because “he’s got some nice things about him” and “I happen to like him”—he’s suddenly taking a different tack.

In the wake of new polling suggesting RFK Jr. would siphon more votes away from Trump than President Joe Biden, Trump is stablin’ and geniusin’ up a storm, taking to his perpetual prevarication platform Truth Social to knock the wind out of the independent candidate’s campaign. His latest tirade comes just days after Trump claimed RFK the Lesser could hurt both major party candidates but “he might hurt Biden a little bit more.” On Friday night, as Trump dithered between wishing his wife a happy birthday or lauding South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for her new and courageous puppy-murdering stance, he suddenly swung in an entirely different direction: claiming the guy he once praised as “very smart” and a “very good man” is actually a total disaster. And not because RFK Jr. would be forced to attend state dinners in a giant acrylic hamster ball to avoid infecting other world leaders with smallpox. No, it’s because Trump—and Republicans as a whole—are suddenly very nervous that Kennedy will loosen Trump’s once-reliable hold on the demon sperm vote. 

As Daily Kos noted Tuesday, new polling from NBC News shows Kennedy support at 13%—but notably, he “picks up 15% of Trump's support in the head-to-head while attracting only 7% of Biden's original voters.” But that’s not all! In the Marist poll, Kennedy gains a point; and “17% of Trump voters threw their support behind Kennedy in this poll, compared to 11% of Biden voters.” [...] Trump’s latest rants represent a stark departure from what he was saying just last year, after it was revealed that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon had spent “months” recruiting RFK Jr. to run against Biden and serve as a “useful chaos agent.” In June of last year, when RFK Jr. was still running as a Democrat, Trump said he was a “very smart guy,” a “good guy,” and a “common sense guy.” He even lauded the Kennedy scion’s allegedly robust poll numbers, saying, “He’s a very good man and his heart is in the right place, and he’s doing really well! I saw a poll, he’s at 22. That’s pretty good.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has increasingly targeted his campaign to MAGA-curious messaging to appeal to disgruntled Trump voters, and that has Donald Trump shaking in his boots because indications that RFK Jr. will poach more from Trump than Joe Biden.

See Also:

Salon: RFK is now openly gunning for Trump voters — and Republicans are starting to worry

#Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #Donald Trump #2024 Presidential Election #2024 Elections #2024 Election Polls

[voguefashion]

The Kennedys on Vanity Fair

Jackie Kennedy Onassis, August 1989.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis, July 1994.

Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, September 1999.

John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, August 2003.

Jackie Kennedy, May 2004.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (with Julia Roberts George Clooney & Al Gore), May 2006.

Jackie Kennedy & John F. Kennedy, November 2007.

Robert F. Kennedy, June 2008.

Jackie Kennedy, October 2009.

John F. Kennedy & Jackie Kennedy - The Kennedys (Special Commemorative Edition), 2013.

#on the cover #vanity fair #the kennedys #jackie kennedy onassis #carolyn bessette kennedy #john f. kennedy jr. #jackie kennedy #robert f. kennedy jr. #john f. kennedy #robert f. kennedy #1980s #1990s #2000s #vanity fair covers

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

I'm shocked. I wasn't expecting the body on him.

#Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #handsome daddy #daddy #shirtless #celebrities #american politician #politician #pilf

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

FROM MY JANUARY 6 ALBUM

Here are Trumplicans in hand-to-hand combat with police on 1/6 in the Capitol as Trump gleefully watches TV, hoping to stop the peaceful transfer of power and overthrow the will of the voters.

[Stephen Jennings]

+

Jan 6 Rioters: this presidential candidate is for you. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a lengthy statement on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot a day after his campaign distanced themselves from a fundraising email describing Jan. 6. defendants as "activists." But his walk-back is filled with gross falsehoods, including the assertion that the Jan. 6 rioters were not violent and neither carried nor used weapons: both claims commonly circulated by Trump, but disproven in the more than 500 prosecutions, which documented the discharge of firearms and use of knives, blades, bearspray and other chemical agents, some of which appeared to have had fatal or near-fatal consequences.

[Axios]

#Stephen Jennings #Jan 6 2021 #MAGA #misinformation #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #Jan 6 rioters

[deadpresidents]

How dangerous is RFK Jr to Biden?

First of all, I think it's important to note that RFK Jr. isn't going to be a threat to anybody unless he gets ballot access in November. I believe he's officially gained ballot access in one state so far and looks to have met the requirements in about eight or nine others. I don't know the exact number today, but that seems to leave at least 40 states that he still has to work to gain access to.

Now, if he works out a deal with the Libertarian Party for their nomination, it would get him very close to getting on the ballot in every state. If he -- and the Libertarian Party -- are smart, they'll figure out a way to work together in order to achieve that. Otherwise there is just no way that he'll make the kind of splash that the media is suggesting. Sure, if he only gets on the ballot in a handful of states that happen to be battleground states, he can certainly play the part of spoiler. But he can't do that as a write-in candidate in states where he isn't officially on the ballot.

But, honestly, I think RFK Jr. would draw more voters away from Trump than Biden. Yes, RFK Jr. was a lifelong Democrat before making this bid for the Presidency as an independent, but his anti-vaccine, conspiracy-fueled worldview is much more aligned with Trump's voters and the MAGA cult. I think it's possible that more people would be willing to vote for RFK Jr. because they see him as a less dangerous, (somewhat) less insane version of Trump than traditional Democratic voters who would be willing to vote for Kennedy because President Biden is old. I believe it would hurt Trump more than it would hurt Biden.

The most important thing to watch for is ballot access, though. If RFK Jr. can't get on the ballot in the majority of the states he's going to be a non-factor. It is not easy to get nationwide ballot access without the support of an established party's nomination -- like the Libertarians -- and it's already almost April. Announcing his running mate this early was a necessity if he's going to run as a true independent because some states require the identity of the ticket in order to get on the ballot in the general election. But unless they partner with the Libertarians, RFK Jr. is going to need to race against the clock to meet the requirements -- which are often different from state-to-state -- for ballot access in as many states as possible.

#2024 Election #Presidential Elections #Politics #Presidential Campaign #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #Third-Party Presidential Candidates #Independent Presidential Candidates #Presidential Candidates #Ballot Access #President Biden #Joe Biden #Donald Trump #President Trump #Presidency #Presidents #Presidential Election

[factcheckdotorg]

#robert f. kennedy jr. #fact check #2024 presidential race #autism #vaccines

[schraubd]

Could RFK Jr. Succeed as a Republican?

The utterly unsurprising news that the majority of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s major financial backers are dyed-in-the-wool Republicans, and that his "surging" poll numbers are being driven primarily by newfound love from Republican voters, makes me wonder: how would he fare if he actually ran as a Republican?

Obviously, on the issues he's a much closer match to the GOP these days. The anti-vaxx paranoia and overall conspiracy mindset goes without saying. His foreign policy stances are called "tankie" when they're nominally coming from the left, but if you're a Republican they're just bog-standard "isolationist" Putin-worship. Even some of his seemingly more "progressive" government spending ideas could easily be folded into a MAGA-style "build baby build" argument; the same goes for his railings against big business vis-a-vis a Josh Hawley style of politics (it's all easier once you remember that all of these positions -- whether held by Kennedy or Trump or Hawley -- are all vibes, no content, so it's no struggle to assimilate them into a new host).

And symbolically, I think he has a lot to offer to the GOP. It's not just the high-profile "defector" thing (as absurd as that label is to apply to someone like Kennedy). He also -- again, symbolically, not substantively -- harkens back to "my granddaddy's Democratic Party", feeding into the larger grievance narrative of older White voters who retain some nostalgia for the mid-20th century glory days but are convinced that "the party left them". And even in presentation, Kennedy has some Trumpian vibes: the superficial visage of power and influence, paired with the superficial visage of being a "rebel" who's standing up to his own "class" (I can't keep repeating that this is all nonsense, but nonsense is very appealing to GOP primary voters).

Do I think he could oust Trump? No, because I don't think anybody can oust Trump in a GOP primary. Do I think he could become a serious player -- more so than the shooting star crashing meteor that is Ron DeSantis? Absolutely. And as, for example, a Trump VP pick, RFK Jr. makes an alarming amount of sense. The biggest question might be whether the delusions that prompted Kennedy to run in the first place will obscure the greener grass that awaits him on the GOP side of the fence; because otherwise going GOP seems like the obvious play for him.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/weyz4MG

#conspiracy theories #Democrats #Election 2024 #GOP #primaries #Republicans #Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

[tomorrowusa]

There is an enormous amount of competition for PolitiFact's 2023 Lie of the Year award. But the decision has been made and the dubious honor goes to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As pundits and politicos spar over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign will factor into the outcome of the 2024 election, one thing is clear: Kennedy’s political following is built on a movement that seeks to legitimize conspiracy theories. His claims decrying vaccines have roiled scientists and medical experts and stoked anger over whether his work harms children. He has made suggestions about the cause of COVID-19 that he acknowledges sound racist and antisemitic. Bolstered by his famous name and family’s legacy, his campaign of conspiracy theories has gained an electoral and financial foothold. He is running as an independent — having abandoned his pursuit of the Democratic Party nomination — and raised more than $15 million. A political action committee pledged to spend between $10 million and $15 million to get his name on the ballot in 10 states.  Even though he spent the past two decades as a prominent leader of the anti-vaccine movement, Kennedy rejects a blanket "anti-vax" label that he told Fox News in July makes him "look crazy, like a conspiracy theorist." But Kennedy draws bogus conclusions from scientific work. He employs "circumstantial evidence" as if it is proof. In TV, podcast and political appearances for his campaign in 2023, Kennedy steadfastly maintained:

Vaccines cause autism.

No childhood vaccines "have ever been tested in a safety study pre-licensing."

There is "tremendous circumstantial evidence" that psychiatric drugs cause mass shootings, and the National Institutes of Health refuses to research the link out of deference to pharmaceutical companies.

Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were discredited as COVID-19 treatments so COVID-19 vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization, a win for Big Pharma. 

Exposure to the pesticide atrazine contributes to gender dysphoria in children.

COVID-19 is "targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese."

His off the scale and totally unsupported conspiracy theories are not confined to autism, vaccines, immunity, and COVID-19.

For Kennedy, the conspiracies aren’t limited to public health. He claims "members of the CIA" were involved in the assassination of his uncle, John F. Kennedy. He doesn’t "believe that (Sirhan) Sirhan’s bullets ever hit my father," Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y. He insists the 2004 presidential election was stolen from Democratic candidate John Kerry. News organizations, including PolitiFact, have documented why those claims, and many others, are false, speculative or conspiracy-minded. Kennedy has sat for numerous interviews and dismissed the critics, not with the grievance and bluster of former President Donald Trump, but with a calm demeanor. He amplifies the alleged plot and repeats dubious scientific evidence and historical detail.  Will his approach translate to votes? According to polls since November of a three-way matchup between President Joe Biden, Trump and Kennedy, Kennedy pulled 16% to 22% of respondents. Kennedy’s movement exemplifies the resonance of conspiratorial views. Misinformers with organized efforts are rewarded with money and loyalty. But that doesn’t make the claims true. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign based on false theories is PolitiFact’s 2023 Lie of the Year.

A Reminder: RFK Jr. has been politically disowned by other members of the Kennedy extended family. They do not support his bizarre conspiracy theories and other rantings. He is trying to capitalize on his family name even though he is a disgrace to the heritage of his uncles and father.

Nobody should vote for him thinking that he will bring back Camelot. RFK Jr. is basically an organic Trump without the makeup.

#politifact #rfk jr. #robert f. kennedy jr. #lies #liar of the year #conspiracy theories #autism #vaccines #covid-19 #atrazine #mass shootings #third parties #election 2024

[considerourknowledge]

Consider the Presidential Ticket of Smug and Arrogant

Anti-vaxxer idiot and family disappointment Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is considering another self important anti-vaxxer as a running mate in his longshot independent bid for the presidency. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Kennedy is considering his insufferable hiking buddy and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, or former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura as a potential vice president. Rodgers, who thinks he knows more than everyone about everything, is definitely an interesting choice for Kennedy's running mate, but both men share the same delusions about how great and important they are, despite actually being harmful, toxic assholes. "I've talked to Aaron about it. We sync up on so many things. I really like how we have the same problematic views on a number of issues. He's also really smug and arrogant like me," said Kennedy when asked about his plans for his campaign.

#robert f. kennedy jr. #aaron rodgers #jesse ventura #2024 election

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The White House on Monday blasted comments made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about COVID-19 as “vile” amid broader condemnation of the Democratic presidential candidate’s claim that the virus was manipulated to target white and Black people.

The firestorm began after The New York Post reported Kennedy Jr.’s comments, in which he said during an event last week that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack those groups of people while avoiding Chinese people and Ashkenazi Jews.

“The claims made on that tape is false, it is vile, and they put our fellow Americans in danger,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing with reporters. “If you think about the racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories that come out of saying those types of things. It is an attack on our fellow citizens, our fellow Americans. And so it is important that we essentially speak out when we hear those claims made more broadly.”

Democratic officials and anti-discrimination leaders immediately challenged the veracity of Kennedy’s claims, which he sought to backtrack by saying in part he didn’t think the virus was “deliberately engineered.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a statement saying the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist should be prevented from serving as an elected official.

Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also called the comments “deeply troubling,” tweeting that “they do not represent the views of the Democratic Party.”

#us politics #news #the hill #2023 #Democrats #president joe biden #biden administration #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #covidー19 #coronavirus #coronavirus pandemic #xenophobia #stop aapi hate #antisemitism #The New York Post #Karine Jean-Pierre #Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee #Democratic National Committee #Jaime Harrison

[justinssportscorner]

Emily Stewart at Vox:

The first time I found myself wondering what the deal was with Aaron Rodgers was when his brother Jordan appeared on season 12 of The Bachelorette, which aired back in 2016. The quarterback skipped the all-important family visit, raising some questions, but instead of glossing over it, the show insisted on leaving an open seat at the table where he could have been. Reality TV’s gonna reality TV, I guess. Before that, in my world, Rodgers had simply been my team’s star quarterback, the one who took us to a Super Bowl victory in 2011. I do not claim to be the world’s biggest football knower, but when you grow up in Wisconsin, you sort of have no choice but to love the Green Bay Packers. Sundays in the Badger State are for two things: church and the Pack … and also beer and cheese, so, like, four. (As an aside, the Packers are the NFL’s only publicly owned team, another reason to love them.)

Family dynamics can be hard, I thought at the time, and really it was none of my business. But at the very least it seemed a little sad to think Rodgers was estranged from his family, and I did wonder why. Cut to about eight years later, and the quiet suspicion that maybe Aaron Rodgers is a bit strange has morphed into a very public, very loud conversation, now that we know, well, a whole lot more. Rodgers didn’t get the Covid-19 vaccine and misled people about it by saying he was “immunized.” He’s talked openly about getting into psychedelics and doing whatever a “darkness retreat” is. He’s had a string of relatively short-lived public romantic relationships, which is normal and fine, though his last girlfriend was maybe a witch? He regularly spouts conspiracy theories about Covid and vaccines and UFOs, among other items, and is chummy with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaxxer and presidential candidate. Last year, he challenged Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce to a debate about vaccines that was also supposed to include RFK Jr. and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Kelce declined.

Much of this oddball activity and commentary has taken place on The Pat McAfee Show, where Rodgers appears for “Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays.” Disney reportedly paid $85 million for a licensing deal to air the daily sports talk show on ESPN, which it owns. The Pat McAfee Show was the setting of the latest “Aaron Rodgers said what now?” incident, when on January 2 he basically implied that ABC late-night talk show host — and also a high-paid Disney employee — Jimmy Kimmel is a pedophile. It’s been a whole thing, with back-and-forth between Rodgers and Kimmel and ESPN and Disney, for days. Kimmel called Rodgers a “hamster-brained man” and threatened to sue him. An ESPN exec called Rodgers’ comments “dumb.” Rodgers refused to say sorry and responded that the exec’s comments weren’t “helping.” None of it was. [...]

The Jimmy Kimmel dustup is really just the latest in a stream of ??? what is up with this man

So, let’s get back to the Kimmel thing. In early January, Rodgers suggested the comedian had ties to the disgraced financier and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Referring to a since-released set of court filings about Epstein that have been branded the “Epstein list,” Rodgers said, “there’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, that are really hoping that doesn’t come out.” There’s previously never been any speculation that Kimmel had ties to Epstein — but he has been trading barbs with Rodgers for a while, focused on the athlete’s anti-vaccination stance. Kimmel was not thrilled at Rodgers’s little Epstein theory. He clarified on Twitter/X he never had any contact with Epstein, said the remarks had put his family in danger, and threatened to sue. Kimmel also did a monologue about the sports star. Rodgers responded on McAfee. He said he was glad Kimmel wasn’t on the Epstein list and isn’t “stupid enough” to actually accuse someone of pedophilia without evidence. Rodgers didn’t apologize, but he did offer up a strange but fairly accurate self-assessment. “I’m not a super political person, okay? Do whatever you want. Conspiracy theorist? That’s fine, because if you look at the track record of conspiracy theorists in the last few years, they’ve been wrong about a lot of things,” he said. And then he complained about the media and cancel culture and said he does not “give a shit” about what people say about him, which … sure. Finally, on Wednesday, January 10, McAfee said that Aaron Rodgers would no longer be appearing on his show for the rest of the NFL season. He said the show was “very lucky” to get a chance to talk to Rodgers and that he’s obviously a “massive piece of the NFL story” and acknowledged “some of his thoughts and opinions … do piss off a lot of people.” McAfee sounded relieved to be away from the drama. “I’m pumped that that is no longer going to be every single Wednesday of my life, which it has been for the last few weeks of my life,” he said.

NFL star QB Aaron Rodgers has been getting into hot water in recent years, and it's because of his off-field activities such as trafficking in COVID conspiracies and anti-vaxxer nonsense. At least some of these were said on The Pat McAfee Show, where he is a regular guest.

#Aaron Rodgers #Pat McAfee #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #ESPN #The Pat McAfee Show #Anti Vaxxer Extremism #Conspiracy Theories #Green Bay Packers #New York Jets #NFL #Jimmy Kimmel #Jeffrey Epstein #Epstein List #Sports Media

[aci25]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fires Back At Stacey Plaskett, Accusations He Is Racist

A lifelong Democrat, yet the Party refuses to speak to him. Speaks volumes!

When you tear out a man's tongue, you're not proving him a liar; you're telling the world that you fear what he might say."  -- George R.R. Martin

#youtube #robert f. kennedy jr. #politics #breaking news #usa today #us politics #democratic party

[krispyweiss]

Lying Conspiracy Theorist Eric Clapton to Play Fundraiser for Lying Conspiracy Theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Talk about blind faith.

Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Eric Clapton will perform at a fundraiser for anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later this month in California.

Tickets for the Beverly Hills shindig “at a private estate” cost $3,300 to $6,600. Attendees will be told of the secret location 45 minutes before the event begins.

“We expect supporters from across the U.S. to fly in for the evening,” reads the announcement for the Sept. 18 fleecing and brainwashing extravaganza.

For those with amnesia, Clapton spent the pandemic lying about the COVID-19 vaccine and releasing anti-science songs with Van Morrison. Kennedy Jr. spent the pandemic lying about the COVID-19 vaccine and rewriting Graham Nash’s “Chicago” for his anti-science Defeat the Mandate protest.

“Casual elegant attire is recommended,” the announcement says.

9/3/23

#eric clapton #robert f. kennedy jr. #van morrison #graham nash

[deadpresidents]

What do you think about RFK Jr possibly making Aaron Rodgers his VP?

It just amazes me that RFK Jr. thinks that his best options for running mates are two of the only public figures in America who might be considered even more goofy conspiracy theorists than he is -- Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura.

Aaron Rodgers is so thin-skinned and whiny that he can't even do Pat McAfee's podcast regularly without bitching about what somebody said about him. Imagine someone like that running for office? Oh wait...we've been dealing with that since 2015 and this country actually elected that guy President in 2016.

I don't think Rodgers will be the choice. If he was, he'd basically have to quit the NFL and I think he still wants to play. He's 40 years old and missed all of last season with an injury, so he couldn't take another season off just to lose a race as running mate to a fellow conspiracy theorist on a third-party ticket.

If I had to bet, I think RFK Jr. is just trying to throw people off the scent and he's going to pick Tulsi Gabbard. Honestly, Ventura would probably be his best bet -- he's a former Governor who is almost certainly the most successful third-party candidate in American history. And Ventura would be much better on the campaign trail than Rodgers or Gabbard (or RFK Jr., really). But any of those tickets might as well call themselves the Wack Pack party.

Has anybody mentioned yet that this 2024 election cycle is going to be a fucking drag? Calling this country's political scene a "shitshow" is unfair to both shit and shows. Whomever this third-party ticket's nominees are should show up at their campaign rallies in a clown car.

#2024 Election #Shitshow at the Fuck Factory #2024 #Politics #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #RFK Jr. #Aaron Rodgers #Jesse Ventura #Tulsi Gabbard #Clown car #Third-party Candidates #Independent Candidates #Presidential Election #2024 Presidential Election #Conspiracy Theorists #Shoot me please

[gwydionmisha]

#Racism #COVID Denial #Anti-Vaxxers #Robert F. Kennedy Jr. #Public Health #News

[factcheckdotorg]

This is the last of our RFK Jr. series, which can be read here.

#fact check #robert f. kennedy jr. #covid-19 #2024 presidential campaign