October 9, 2023

RFK Jr. Is Officially Running as an Independent—Prompting Siblings to Once Again Disavow Him

“Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us.”

Jessica Kourkounis/Getty

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the prominent conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, is officially running as an independent. On Monday, the Kennedy scion, who has been politically disowned by much of his family, announced that he was ditching his longshot efforts to defeat Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.

The announcement prompted more family disavowal. Kennedy’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, posted a message to social media:

The move follows a presidential campaign that has been mired in controversy, particularly after Kennedy was caught airing anti-semitic conspiracy theories. And of course, as the founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy has been widely condemned for promoting anti-vaccine views on the campaign trail. As my colleague David Corn reported, GOP and Trump PAC donors have actively supported Kennedy’s White House ambitions.

Kennedy’s announcement on Monday comes as Democrats become increasingly concerned that third-party candidates could throw the 2024 election to Donald Trump.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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