Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an independent presidential bid on Monday, walking away from Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaxxer, first announced a presidential bid in April — then said he planned to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in a nearly two-hour speech in Boston.
He changed his tune with his actress wife Cheryl Hines on Monday – and said he wanted independence from the two political parties.
“I am here to declare myself an independent candidate,” Kennedy said before several hundred supporters, whose cheers broke his announcement. “Candidate for President of the United States of America.”
He said he did not ‘come to the decision lightly.
“It’s very painful for me to let go of the party of my uncles, my father, my grandfather and both of my great grandfathers,” Kennedy said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an independent presidential bid on Monday, walking away from Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Actress Cheryl Hines introduces her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. known, who announced an independent presidential bid from Philadelphia on Monday
Kennedy is the son of the late sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968, and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
One supporter brought a hand-drawn sign that read: ‘I want Camelot!’ a reference to Kennedy’s political pedigree.
That said, Kennedy railed against the ‘smug elite’ in his speech.
The newly minted independent pointed to the unpopularity of the 2024 race’s two front-runners: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“Three-quarters of Americans believe that President Biden is too old to govern effectively,” he said. “President Trump faces multiple civil and criminal trials.”
“Both of them have favorability ratings that are deep in negative terror,” he added.
In his Monday remarks, Kennedy advertised himself as the candidate of American reunification.
‘Today we are told that our country is hopelessly divided. Of course, the most hateful voices are always the loudest,” he said.
He added that there are a lot of quiet Americans.’
‘They want us to get along,’ he said, adding ‘making us hate each other is part of the scam.’
Biden had a 51-point lead over Kennedy in the most recent Democratic primary poll.
However, allies of both Biden and former Trump have expressed anxiety behind closed doors about third-party challengers.
NBC reported last month that Hillary Clinton warned Biden while visiting the White House to participate in the Praemium Imperiale Laureate ceremony that the president should take third-party challengers seriously.
Cornel West, a prominent academic formerly politically aligned with progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, is already running to Biden’s left – and is expected to appear on the November 2024 ballot as the Green Party candidate.
The Associated Press reported Monday that those conversations also took place in Trumpworld.
A shocking Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed that Kennedy was far more popular among Republicans than Democrats — and so an independent Kennedy bid could potentially draw more support from Trump than Biden.
Forty-eight percent of Republicans had a favorable view of Kennedy compared to just 14 percent of Democrats.
On the other hand, 57 percent of Democrats had an unfavorable view of Kennedy, while only 18 percent of Republicans said they disliked him.
Independents viewed Kennedy equally – 37 percent viewed him favorably, while 37 percent viewed him unfavorably.
A September NBC News poll showed bad news for Biden when third-party hopefuls were taken into account.
The president was tied with Trump at 46 percent support when just the two of them were in the race.
Campaign manager, former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (left), appeared with his wife Elizabeth at Monday’s event in Philadelphia
When a libertarian candidate, a Green Party candidate and a moderate, No Labels candidate were added as choices, Biden lost to Trump 36 percent to 39 percent.
In that scenario, a libertarian candidate would take 5 percent of the electorate, a No Labels candidate would shy away from 5 percent and a Green Party candidate would gain the support of 4 percent, the poll found.
The New York Times reported last month on a previously undisclosed meeting Kennedy had in July with Angela McArdle, the chairwoman of the Libertarian Party, fueling speculation that he could appear on the ballot as their candidate.
Ballot access will be Kennedy’s biggest challenge, as presidential candidates must meet a number of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines.
Some Trump supporters had an idea of how Kennedy could appear on the ballot.
When Kennedy appeared at the Iowa State Fair on the same day as Trump in August, a number of the former president’s supporters flocked to see the then-Democrat speak.
“Trump-Kennedy!” one woman shouted – as Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination, currently does not have a running mate.