Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off his bid for the Democrat 2024 presidential nomination Wednesday by being honest about his past. He revealed plans to create peace in Ukraine and plans to get big pharma out of the government.
Kennedy has a reputation for abusing drugs and being a serial womanizer in the wake of his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy’s deaths.
Recently, he has made waves as a prominent anti-vaxxer.
“I told my wife the other day, I said, I’ve got so many skeletons in my closet that if they could vote, I could be king of the world,” said Kennedy to supporters during the almost two-hour-long speech at a Boston hotel.
Before the speech, the Kennedy campaign launched its website, which highlighted six priorities for the Democrat candidate.
In a section titled “honest government,” the Dem hopeful says special interests are too entrenched in the government agencies meant to monitor them.
“Wall Street controls the SEC. Polluters and extractive industries dominate the EPA and BLM. Pharma controls the CDC, NIH, and FDA. Big Ag controls the USDA. Big Tech has captured the FTC,” said Kennedy. “No wonder trust in government is at all-time lows. It’s time to earn it back.”
To disentangle the entities, Kennedy said he would “protect whistleblowers and prosecute officials who abuse the public trust.”
In another section, titled “Peace,” Kennedy laid out plans for what he would do in Ukraine.
“Diplomacy has never really been tried,” said Kennedy. “We will offer to withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia’s borders.”
He argued that would spur Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. “U.N. peacekeepers will guarantee peace to the Russian-speaking eastern regions,” Kennedy continued. “We will put an end to this war.”
Other priorities outlined by Kennedy included “healing the divide” — by turning down the partisanship in the country. He spoke about his family’s divisions and noted that many members didn’t support his presidential bid.
He explained that despite differences, they could respect each other, which meant there was hope for the country.
“No one is deplorable,” said his policy platform. Hillary Clinton once used the word to describe former President Donald Trump’s supporters.
Kennedy spoke of healing racial wounds saying, “In the case of race relations, reconciliation includes repairing the damage caused by centuries of bigotry. Our operating principle is not guilt for the sins of one’s ancestors but rather compassion. We will invoke the authentic desire in all Americans, white and black, liberal and conservative, to improve the condition of our Black and Native brothers and sisters.”
Kennedy’s campaign website highlights additional priorities
Kennedy said another of his key priorities is civil liberties; however, he said he would not “defund the police.” Instead, he said, “We will transform the police.”
“We will incentivize them to prevent violence, not make unnecessary arrests. No longer will their relationship to the public to be adversarial.”
Kennedy, a past drug offender, vowed to grant amnesty to nonviolent drug criminals.
In the website’s “revitalization” section, Kennedy vowed to “reverse America’s economic decline” and confront the country’s “widening wealth gap,” which he labeled as “the most unequal since the 1920s.”
In a nod to the progressive wing of the Democrat party, Kennedy said he would back “labor in reclaiming its fair share of American prosperity.”
“We will break up ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks and monopolies, and when crisis strikes, bail out the homeowners, debtors, and small business owners instead,” said the website.
Finally, RFK Jr., who has long been known for his environmental advocacy, said he would “address the most pressing environmental problems in America and beyond” as president.
“Good environmental policy — 100% of the time — is identical to good economic policy,” states his campaign website.
Kennedy’s team provided no details on how his administration would convince countries like India and China to follow green policies.
