Yes, there's a Kennedy running for president. All of a sudden, his name is getting around.
His name, that's the thing. I was a teenager when Bobby Kennedy was shot, but I still remember the sense of excitement and loss surrounding his candidacy. The Kennedy name evokes a kind of magic in politics — or maybe it's just general restlessness — but recent polls have shown that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as a Democrat for president, is polling as high as 20% of the Democratic electorate in a match-up with President Joe Biden.
Who?
What?
His name, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., evokes the magic of another era for a dwindling slice of the electorate. I wonder if it's that, or just general restlessness, that explains why RFK Jr. is polling at 20% against the president.
"He's making some sense," you hear some people say. You do, I've heard it. People talk about him like a real candidate.
Robert Kennedy for president! If he had a different name, he'd still be banned from social media for disseminating clear disinformation and dismissed as just another nutcase running for president. But 20%, a famous name, a famous legacy — and Elon Musk's attention.
Robert Kennedy Jr. announced his candidacy in Boston, which is a place his family has been associated with, but one where RFK Jr. has never lived. He is an anti-vaxer and conspiracy theorist, as well as a former heroin addict who has been married three times.
He is not a conventional Democrat, to put it mildly.
In terms of foreign policy, he wants to "try to formulate policies that will seal the border permanently."
He is reportedly pro-Putin and thinks our government should consider the perspective of the Russians on the war in Ukraine, not the Ukrainians. He is also a strong opponent of transgender rights.
He's against an assault weapons ban and blames mass shootings in America on pharmaceutical drugs.
For years, he's blamed vaccines for autism. He's been a leading proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, claiming that the vaccine has killed more people than it has saved.
In his 2021 book "The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health," he claimed a massive conspiracy among Big Tech and Big Pharma made the country depend on vaccines to deal with the coronavirus.
In short, this is a candidate who spreads dangerous ideas. There are measles epidemics right now that threaten children who are not vaccinated. And how he could compare Anne Frank to an anti-vaxer is just beyond me (he later apologized, but even so).
So, yes, there is a Kennedy running for president, but clearly this is not a Kennedy in any traditional sense, and mistaking him for one would be a terrible mistake. I write about him lest anyone make the mistake of thinking he is somehow a legitimate protest vote against the president in any way shape or form. He is not.
Susan Estrich is a politician, professor, lawyer and writer. Whether on the pages of newspapers such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post or as a television commentator on countless news programs on CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, CBS and NBC, she has tackled legal matters, women's concerns, national politics and social issues. Read Susan Estrich's Reports — More Here.