Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. launches presidential campaign
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Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his longshot bid to challenge U.S. President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.
Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his longshot bid to challenge U.S. President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.
Kennedy, a member of one of the country's most famous political families who has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures, kicked off his campaign in Boston on Wednesday and likened his campaign to the American revolution.
"My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country," Kennedy said.
Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running for the Democratic nomination. Biden has said he's planning on running again but has not formally announced a campaign. He's expected to have a glide path to the nomination, with much of the Democratic establishment behind him.
Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, repeatedly referenced both of them during his lengthy speech Wednesday.
Kennedy Jr. was once known most as an environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water. But over the past nearly two decades, he's become one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement. His work has been described by members of his own family and public health experts as misleading and dangerous.
His efforts intensified after the pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and an AP investigation in 2021 showed he had linked up with anti-democratic figures and other groups. He has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
