Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist, has filed a statement of candidacy to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024. Kennedy, scion of one of America’s foremost political dynasties, has a Los Angeles address and a Democratic Party affiliation.
Kennedy has been running a low-profile exploratory committee and spoke in New Hampshire last month. Despite facing an uphill battle challenging an incumbent president from his own party, Kennedy plans to join self-help author Marianne Williamson in opposing Biden in the Democratic primaries.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. attorney general and New York senator who was assassinated in 1968 during his own campaign for president. He is also a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy has gained attention in recent years for espousing conspiracy theories about the dangers of vaccines. His anti-vaccine stance began with debunked studies linking early childhood vaccinations to autism, but became more prominent in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. A video of Kennedy’s speech at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire last month was removed from YouTube for violating the platform’s rules against medical misinformation.
At an anti-vaccine rally last year, Kennedy made a controversial remark comparing vaccine mandates to the plight of Anne Frank during the Holocaust. Even his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, publicly condemned the remark. Kennedy apologized on Twitter for any hurt caused.
Despite his controversial views on vaccines, Kennedy has served in various roles for environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Hudson Riverkeeper, and Waterkeeper Alliance.
It remains to be seen how Kennedy’s candidacy will affect the Democratic primaries, but he will surely be a controversial and divisive figure in the race for the presidency in 2024.
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