EXPLAINER

Is RFK Jr truly independent?

A leaked video of a call with Donald Trump has reopened a debate on where the Kennedy scion stands ahead of the November US election.

Supporters of independent US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr protest against his exclusion from the first presidential debate, outside CNN's West Coast headquarters in Burbank, California [File: Mike Blake/Reuters]

By Lorraine Mallinder
Published On 17 Jul 2024
AL JAZEERA

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a member of America’s most famous – and Democratic – political family, is running as an independent candidate in this year’s presidential election. But his independence was called into question this week after the leaking of a conversation between him and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Last October, Kennedy dropped out of the Democratic primary race against incumbent President Joe Biden to launch what appeared to be a quixotic independent bid for the presidency.

Both Biden and Trump were eager to crush the freewheeler’s bid, depicting him as a dangerous ally of the opposite camp, both lobbing accusations of him being an election “plant” or “spoiler”.

Now, Democrats are alleging that the leaked conversation proves an alliance between RFK and Trump. So what’s going on? Is RFK working with Team Trump or is he truly independent? Where does he stand on key issues – and does he align more with Republicans or with Democrats?

What happened during the call?

During the chat, which took place following an assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend, the Republican nominee appeared to be coaxing Kennedy to join his campaign.

“I would love you to do something – and I think it would be so good for you and so big for you,” said Trump, audible over speakerphone. “We’re gonna win.”

“Yeah,” replied Kennedy.

Aside from references to bringing Kennedy onto his side – “We’re way ahead of the guy,” Trump said, referring to Biden – the Republican nominee also appeared to be playing to Kennedy’s anti-vaxxer views.

“When you feed a baby, Bobby,” Trump said, “a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it’s meant for a horse, not a, you know, 10-pound or 20-pound baby … and then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically.

“And then you hear that it doesn’t have an impact, right? But you and I talked about that a long time ago.”

Trump also spoke to Kennedy about Saturday’s assassination attempt, saying that the bullet that hit his ear “felt like a giant – like the world’s largest mosquito”.

(SOME SAY IT WAS SHARDS OF THE TELEPROMPTER)

But what was the call really about?

The call was an attempt to “neutralise or co-opt RFK so he doesn’t syphon off potential Trump voters”, Steffen Schmidt, professor emeritus in the department of political science at Iowa State University told Al Jazeera. “He’s using The Art of the Deal tactic to gain that small but important political ground.”

Melissa Smith, author of the 2022 book, Third Parties, Outsiders, and Renegades, agreed.

“The video seemed to be more of Trump trying to sway Kennedy to endorse his campaign,” she said.

“Kennedy is focusing his attention on fundraising and trying to get his name on the ballot in all 50 states, which is a very expensive task. His fundraising has been slow recently, and that makes him look more vulnerable to the other campaigns,” Smith said.
Did Trump and RFK Jr also meet?

They did, apparently on Monday, before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, hours before the Republican nominee announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his pick for vice president.

Politico reported the meeting that day, with claims from sources that Trump had discussed the possibility of Kennedy supporting his campaign.

Seeking to dispel reports, Kennedy came clean on Monday about his “meeting this morning” with Trump, underlining that they had discussed “national unity” and that he hoped to also meet Democratic leaders to discuss the same topic.
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“No, I am not dropping out of the race,” he said.

Who is RFK Jr?

A member of the Kennedy family, Robert Francis Kennedy Jr is a son of US Attorney General and Senator Robert F Kennedy, and a nephew of US President John F Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy.

Kennedy ditched the Democrats last year after it became clear that his long-shot primary bid was unlikely to succeed.

Since then, he has campaigned as an independent, hawking a mind-bending brand of left- and right-wing politics – largely liberal on issues like abortion, while endorsing libertarian free-market solutions on the environment, and peddling conspiracy theories on vaccines.

Amid a national mood of political disenchantment, the longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist has projected himself as a political outsider, blasting “corporate kleptocracy”.

Could he be teaming up with Trump?

“He could be or not … I don’t think he has a road map,” said Schmidt, speaking about Kennedy. “He’s a ship in search of a port and at this point, I don’t think he himself even knows where he wants to tie up and disembark.”

Unlike many other politicians who ultimately need to fall in line with either Democrats or Republicans, Kennedy “is both dependent on his own cult following of anti-vaxxers and environmentalists and independent in that he has lots of cash and doesn’t have to be accountable to anyone”, Schmidt said.

Smith, the author, said Kennedy would not join Trump at this point.

“It’s somewhat predictable that Trump did all the talking, and you only see Kennedy respond in a monosyllable one time,” she told Al Jazeera.
What are Kennedy’s views?

They’re a mixed bag. Once named a “Hero of the Planet” by Time magazine, he has threatened to repeal Biden’s signature climate legislation, which pushes for a transition to a green economy, calling for a market-led approach – a stance closer to Trump’s on the environment.

On immigration, he supports Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, forcing asylum seekers to wait south of the border for immigration hearings – a policy the Biden administration tried to end. This said, he is calling for the use of technology, such as cameras and detectors, in places where a physical wall is not necessary.

He has pitched himself as an antiwar candidate opposing aid to Ukraine and blaming the US and NATO for creating a “proxy war” with Russia – echoing a position taken by sections of the conservative right. Trump too has opposed aid to Ukraine.

Yet, RFK has staunchly defended Israel’s no-limits war on Gaza, bringing him into alignment with Biden.

Kennedy’s position on abortion has shifted during the campaign, but he is closer to Democrats on the issue. Having endorsed federal restrictions on abortion after the first trimester, he later issued a statement that abortion should be unrestricted until “the baby is viable outside the womb”.

He is perhaps best known for his anti-vaxxer views, abundantly aired during the COVID-19 pandemic when he accused the US government’s then-chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, of “a historic coup d’etat against Western democracy”.
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How was the video leaked?

The video was first posted by Kennedy’s son, Robert F Kennedy III, with the message: “I am a firm believer that these sorts of conversations should be had in public. Here’s Trump giving his real opinion to my dad about vaccinating kids – this was the day after the assassination attempt.”

The video call spread like wildfire on social media, with Kennedy apologising to Trump on Tuesday on social media platform X.

“When President Trump called me, I was taping with an in-house videographer,” he wrote. “I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted,” he said.

Where is Kennedy in this race?

No third-party candidate has won the presidency in more than a century and a half, and the latest polls show Kennedy with about 8 percent support.

However, Kennedy has what pundits are calling the “X factor”. Polls back in May showed that his use of social media and appeal among younger voters could give him unpredictable sway in key swing states like North Carolina. The state’s election board voted Tuesday to certify the We The People party that supporters of Kennedy are using as a vehicle for him to run in a handful of states.

Not including North Carolina, Kennedy’s campaign has said he is officially on the ballot in nine states and that signatures have been submitted in 14 more.
A threat to the big two?

Both the Democrats and the Republicans see Kennedy as a threat, said Smith.

“So it makes sense that Trump was asking Kennedy to endorse him. Trump would like to have Kennedy’s voters [many of them young] supporting him, as that is a demographic that any presidential candidate would like to win,” she said.

Indeed, an NBC poll in April found that Kennedy was cutting deeper into Trump’s support.

Republican voters viewed him much more favourably (40 percent positive, 15 percent negative) than Democratic voters (16 percent positive, 53 percent negative).

Still, Democrats are mindful of what happened in 2000, when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was blamed for Al Gore’s loss of Florida – and the presidency – to George W Bush.

The Democratic Party has been fighting hard to neutralise Kennedy, filing Federal Election Commission complaints against him and his allies to try to keep him off the ballot in several states. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has also sponsored advertisement campaigns attacking Kennedy.

Democrats claim that Kennedy is being funded by MAGA donors, notably the reclusive Tim Mellon, who has reportedly contributed $20m to Kennedy’s campaign.

As the leaked video of the conversation between Kennedy and Trump went viral, Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni posted on X: “When people show you who they are, believe them”.

How does Kennedy view his former party?

Kennedy’s campaign hasn’t been going well in recent days.

This month, Vanity Fair revealed the independent candidate had allegedly groped babysitter Eliza Cooney in the late 90s. While Kennedy later apologised to Cooney by text, she later told The Washington Post that she found the message from Mr Kennedy “disingenuous and arrogant”.

For his part, Kennedy claims that the Democrats are out to get him, suggesting that they are in cahoots with the media.

“The [Democratic National Convention] media’s garbage pail journalism may distract us from President Biden’s cognitive deficits but it does little to elevate the national debate or reduce the price of groceries,” he said on X.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES