The presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was an intriguing novelty that had initial promises to be the most successful third-party bid since Perot in 1992. He was a political outsider with a highly visible surname which held prominent political prestige. RFK Jr. has long been an advocate for vaccine safety and was on the money regarding all things Covid, and in writing The Real Anthony Fauci, he made direct claims against the Deep State.
However, his anti-establishment campaign failed to make inroads with the Democrats, forcing him to go independent. Meanwhile, he still proceeded to pander to Democrats by celebrating Harvey Milk and selecting liberal Silicon Valley attorney Nicole Shanahan as his running mate to keep his campaign afloat. As for Republicans, the weakness of Joe Biden and subsequently Kamala Harris has served as a boon to Donald Trump.
This left Robert F Kennedy failing to gain traction. Until the Democrat coup to install Kamala Harris as their nominee, he was drawing supporters away from Biden who were parking their support in the polls. Now he draws more from Trump, whom his campaign has expressed as the better alternative. Thus on August 23, 2024, Robert F. Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump for President.
In his address to the nation, Kennedy lamented the Democrats “abandoning democracy” and becoming a party contrary to its ideas from decades ago. His speech attacks the media as being an extension of the Democrat machine which sought to deny his campaign unfairly. He lamented the destruction of the Ukraine War which he blamed the Neoconservatives for instigating against Russia. He states that 600K Ukrainians have died from the war, which while not the official number is not an outlandish estimate. Ending forever wars was a key reason for his decision to back Trump, but he cited “securing the border, protecting freedom of speech,” and dismantling the administrative state as other reasons for the common cause he has with Trump. He spends much of his speech talking about the destruction caused by toxic processed foods, which he contends is the main contributor to the poor state of public health in America.
Analysis
When the Libertarians hosted their convention, Trump made a pitched them that he would concede a cabinet position to the libertarians. Rather than accept an offer that might advance the ideas of the movement, the libertarians instead nominated Chase Oliver, who fits the stereotype of a homosexual, pot smoker with his AR-15. Libertarians are not interested in winning, but in their ideology and their ego, and as former libertarians like Pete Quinones point out, it is a religion.
By withdrawing from the race, RFK Jr. demonstrated that he is willing to put his movement before his ego. With his campaign running out of money and losing support, he could either continue his vanity and draw supporters from Trump or strike a deal with the Trump campaign in exchange for his endorsement. Despite his failures as president, Trump has long expressed vaccine skepticism and sympathy towards this cause, going back to 2016, and did so again in a leaked phone call between the two candidates. It is within Trump’s nature to make deals, and this week on CNN, Trump signaled that he would staff RFK Jr. in an administration. The emphasis on public health caused by processed food signals that his involvement in the Trump administration would be an area of strength for RFK Jr. He wants to prioritize saving America from chronic disease, something that is rarely talked about on a national stage, something he believes can be achieved by working with Trump.
By putting his ego aside, RFK Jr. can do much more for his movement by coalescing behind Trump than is otherwise possible. RFK Jr. being staffed in the CDC, FDA, NIH, or even EPA would be impactful for his movement and by extension benefit Americans as the healthcare system is controlled by pharmaceutical corporations. So while Trump has publicly counter-signaled Project 2025, RFK Jr. in the administration is very much a Project 2025 decision.
This is how politics and coalition forming work. In states which could come down to thousands, this matters. Christian supporters of RFK Jr. would be wise to follow their preferred candidate’s lead, especially since Covid concerns are their driving reason behind backing an independent candidate in the first place.
It is not about what Trump did. It is about what he could do if given a second term, especially with better staff, as is already exhibited through JD Vance. This election should not be about personal egos but what is best for America. Now is not the time to be like the libertarians.
One Response
RFK Jr. as the CIA director or AG would be ironically awesome.