Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, filed a statement of candidacy for the Democratic Party with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, April 5.
The declaration of candidacy was filed less than a month after RFK, Jr tweeted: “Help me decide whether to run for President.”
He added: “If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race.”
Help me decide whether to run for President. Visit https://t.co/EX83yh9O4O to volunteer or contribute. If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race. If I run, my top priority will be to end the corrupt https://t.co/ujEHehub9T…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) March 10, 2023
The Team Kennedy website, paid for by the RFK Jr. Inc. Exploratory Committee, says in part: "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has spent his life fighting for American democracy and the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.
"He has battled against corporate greed and government corruption to protect our children, our health, our livelihoods, our environment, and above all, our freedom."
The AP notes that RFK, Jr has "emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous."
In a 2020 op-ed for the New York Times, his niece Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, internal medicine resident physician, wrote: "I love my uncle Bobby. I admire him for many reasons, chief among them his decades-long fight for a cleaner environment. But when it comes to vaccines, he is wrong."
In February 2021, Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, confirmed it had removed Kennedy, Jr's account "for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines."
A year later, Kennedy, Jr apologized after comparing his anti-vaccination campaign to the struggles of Holocaust victim Anne Frank at a 'Defeat the Mandates' rally.
69-year-old RFK, Jr is now the second person to announce they will be seeking the Democratic presidential nomination after Marianne Williamson announced earlier in March. As Politico notes, both bids are considered "long-shots."
Biden has yet to formally announce that he will seek re-election in 2024, though CBS News reports that he is expected to formally launch his campaign by early summer.
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