Robert Kennedy Jr., Nephew of John F. Kennedy, Running as Independent Candidate for US Presidency: Late last year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared his candidacy for the United States presidential election, declaring his separation from the Democratic Party to initiate an improbable independent campaign that would vie for the highest office in the land with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden.
Son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, former United States Attorney General, and nephew of assassinated President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy, the candidate is a member of the Kennedy political dynasty.
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Who is Robert Kennedy Jr., the nephew of the historic John F. Kennedy and an independent candidate for the presidency of the United States?
RFK Jr. was born in Washington, DC, on January 17, 1954. He was the third of eleven children. In his youth, he encountered issues with narcotics. After his initial failure on the bar exam, he was convicted of heroin possession and expelled from residential school for drug use.
He completed volunteer work for the non-profit advocacy organization Natural Resources Defense Council as a probationary requirement. Following his successful completion of the New York Bar examination, he commenced an environmental advocacy profession, specializing in water quality and air pollution.
The attorney, aged 70, is the president and founder of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit environmental organization whose mission is to preserve and protect waterways worldwide.
Kennedy was a pioneering anti-vaccination advocate.
Kennedy’s position on vaccines overshadows his environmental advocacy. Kennedy is a prominent figure in the anti-vaccination movement, a stance that has generated considerable controversy and scientific disapproval. Instagram and YouTube have both banned him for disseminating false information regarding vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the height of the pandemic, he established and served as the leader of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccination propaganda organization that criticized measures including social distancing.
The long-shot campaign of Kennedy
Kennedy’s chances of winning the presidency are slim due to independent candidates’ historically low support.
However, his campaign might be used to spread the erroneous belief that childhood immunizations harm children’s health, which several scientific studies have disproven.
Right-wing friends endorse his anti-vaccination stance. President Donald Trump appointed him to a vaccine assessment commission in 2017. Scientists opposed it because it could promote unfounded conspiracies.
RFK Jr. hopes to announce his running mate later this month. The New York Times reports that he is considering former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura and NFL player and anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers.
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