Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly planning to announce run for president as an independent
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly planning to announce his run as an Independent in the 2024 presidential election on Oct. 9.
Kennedy is currently registered as a Democrat but has reportedly been “a critic of the party,” and may be announcing his plans to separate and run as an independent.
Here’s what we know.
Is RFK Jr. running as an independent?
Kennedy released a video teasing a “major announcement” in Philadelphia on Oct. 9 where he states that he will “share with you our path to the White House.”
Mediaite was first to release the story with Kennedy’s nonprofit “Children’s Health Defense” news outlet, The Defender, reporting on it closely after saying that Kennedy plans to announce his run in Pennsylvania.
There’s been no statement from Kennedy himself on this recent revelation, but a Kennedy campaign insider reportedly told Mediaite that, “Bobby feels that the Democratic National Committee is changing the rules to exclude his candidacy so an independent run is the only way to go.”
The Guardian reported that this decision is, “a move that could upset the 2024 race for the White House.”
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Why would RFK Jr. run as an independent?
The Messenger reported that Kennedy has been outspoken about his opinions on the Democratic Party and how the Democratic National Committee leaders have “succumbed to a siren of control” through their support of President Joe Biden.
DNC officials have also been reportedly outspoken in their their opinions of Kennedy saying that allegedly “not a single Democratic activist” is supporting Kennedy’s run for the White House.
“It’s kind of obvious,” Lincoln Chafee, a former Rhode Island governor and senator who is backing Kennedy, told The New York Times. “The primaries are so rigged, there’s no debates.”
Chafee continued, saying that Kennedy “has to look at his options.
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How do Democrats feel about RFK Jr.?
Democrats, “have watched Mr. Kennedy’s candidacy nervously since it began in April” and are “on high alert,” as Kennedy could potentially run independent, according to the Times.
Vanity Fair reported that “the idea” of RFK Jr. running independent “is legitimately terrifying for a number of reasons.”
One of the reasons listed is that by running independent, Kennedy reportedly “could take votes away from Joe Biden and help Donald Trump.”
The Deseret News reported that Kennedy has been outspoken in urging the importance of holding debates so that Americans, “know that their president has the vigor to handle this very rigorous job and I think there are enough doubts about that now that President Biden really needs to come out.”
