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Kennedy didn’t know anyone with peanut allergies as a kid,&#91;8&#93; so it must be the vaccines.[No, not The Onion] By the way, if you are seeing this on a computer, throw it away immediately! 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Kennedy Jr."/> <meta property="og:description" content="Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (1954–) is an American lawyer, conspiracy theorist, former Democratic Presidential candidate for the 2024 election who only appeared on right-wing podcasts (big brain move),&#91;2&#93;&#91;3&#93; and current Secretary of Health and Human Services under Donald Trump.&#91;4&#93; Aside from his involvement in the Trump administration, he is most known for his role in the anti-vaccination movement,&#91;5&#93;&#91;6&#93;&#91;7&#93; the cause to which he has dedicated most of his energy in recent years. Kennedy didn’t know anyone with peanut allergies as a kid,&#91;8&#93; so it must be the vaccines.[No, not The Onion] By the way, if you are seeing this on a computer, throw it away immediately! 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Kennedy Jr.</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_(cropped).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg/165px-Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="231" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg/248px-Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg/330px-Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2124" data-file-height="2980" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._by_Gage_Skidmore_(cropped).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Robert Kennedy, Jr. at Celebrity Fight Night XXIII in 2017.</div></div></div> <table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #0007FF; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#0007FF">Needles are scary <a href="/wiki/Anti-vaccination_movement" title="Anti-vaccination movement">Anti-vaccination movement</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#FFFFFF;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Anti-vaccination_movement" title="Category:Anti-vaccination movement"><img alt="Icon vax.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/7/7c/Icon_vax.svg/100px-Icon_vax.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/7/7c/Icon_vax.svg/150px-Icon_vax.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/7/7c/Icon_vax.svg/200px-Icon_vax.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#0007FF; text-align:center;">Pricks against pricks </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#FFFFFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Congregation_of_Universal_Wisdom" title="Congregation of Universal Wisdom">Congregation of Universal Wisdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Piers_Corbyn" title="Piers Corbyn">Piers Corbyn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alan_Watt" title="Alan Watt">Alan Watt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BitChute" title="BitChute">BitChute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Facebook" title="Facebook">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Autism_Research_Institute" title="Autism Research Institute">Autism Research Institute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/J._D._Vance" title="J. D. Vance">J. D. Vance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Biblioteca_Pleyades" title="Biblioteca Pleyades">Biblioteca Pleyades</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patriots.win" title="Patriots.win">Patriots.win</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bogdanov_affair" title="Bogdanov affair">Bogdanov affair</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/American_Thinker" title="American Thinker">American Thinker</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elon_Musk" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Vax" title="Template:Vax">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Vax" title="Template talk:Vax">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Vax&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”Robert F. Kennedy Jr… is part of this campaign to attack the institutions committed to reducing the tragedy of preventable infectious diseases. He has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over <a href="/wiki/Social_media" class="mw-redirect" title="Social media">social media</a> and is complicit in sowing <a href="/wiki/War_on_Science" title="War on Science">distrust of the science</a> behind vaccines. And his and others' work against vaccines is having heartbreaking consequences.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Article co-written by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Maeve Kennedy McKean.<a href="#cite_note-otherkenn-1">[1]</a> May 08, 2019.</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (1954–) is an <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">American</a> <a href="/wiki/Lawyer" class="mw-redirect" title="Lawyer">lawyer</a>, <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theorist" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy theorist">conspiracy theorist</a>, former <a href="/wiki/Democratic" class="mw-redirect" title="Democratic">Democratic</a> Presidential candidate for the <a href="/wiki/2024_U.S._presidential_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2024 U.S. presidential election">2024 election</a> who only appeared on <a href="/wiki/Conservative_talk_radio" title="Conservative talk radio">right-wing podcasts</a> (big brain move),<a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a> and current Secretary of Health and Human Services under <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>.<a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a> Aside from his involvement in the Trump administration, he is most known for his role in the <a href="/wiki/Anti-vaccination_movement" title="Anti-vaccination movement">anti-vaccination movement</a>,<a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a> the cause to which he has dedicated most of his energy in recent years. Kennedy didn’t know anyone with peanut allergies as a kid,<a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a> so it must be the vaccines.[No, not <a href="/wiki/The_Onion" title="The Onion">The Onion</a>] By the way, if you are seeing this on a <a href="/wiki/Computer" title="Computer">computer</a>, throw it away immediately! It uses <a href="/wiki/Microwave" title="Microwave">Wi-Fi</a> which destroys the brains of its users!<a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a> He is the son of the late <a href="/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy" title="Robert F. Kennedy">Robert F. Kennedy</a>, and the nephew of the late President <a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a>. However, while he is a member of the <a href="/wiki/Kennedy" title="Kennedy">Kennedy</a> political dynasty, his incessant prattling about anti-vaccine conspiracy theories has caused many to go public with their opposition.<a href="#cite_note-otherkenn-1">[1]</a> According to a Vanity Fair exposé:<a href="#cite_note-vfairexpose-10">[10]</a> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The portrait family members paint of Bobby is of a man of exceptional charm, wit, brains, and generosity who has championed important <a href="/wiki/Environmental" class="mw-redirect" title="Environmental">environmental</a> causes, but whose worst traits—<a href="/wiki/Post-truth" title="Post-truth">an unnerving ease with blending fact and fiction</a>; a powerful ability to deny the collateral damage of his own destructive actions—have engulfed his better angels. The source of these pathologies, they observe, are found in his long and troubling biography, a life story marked by personal trauma and addiction to <a href="/wiki/Drugs" class="mw-redirect" title="Drugs">drugs</a>, sex, and, perhaps most perniciously of all, public adulation.</div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> In October 2023, he dropped out of the Democratic Party and announced that he was running as an independent, much to the chagrin of Donald Trump, who was propping him up in the hopes that he'd weaken <a href="/wiki/Joe_Biden" title="Joe Biden">Joe Biden</a> and subsequently faced a <a href="/wiki/First_past_the_post" title="First past the post">spoiler candidate</a> who always <a href="/wiki/Democrat_In_Name_Only" title="Democrat In Name Only">appealed far more</a> to <a href="/wiki/Republican" class="mw-redirect" title="Republican">Republicans</a> than he did his erstwhile fellow Democrats.<a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a> To reduce any doubt that RFK continues to be a spoiler candidate after his running as an independent, as late as March 2024, the largest donor to RFK's campaign was also a major donor to Trump's campaign, billionaire <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Mellon" class="extiw" title="wp:Tim Mellon" rel="nofollow">Tim Mellon</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> (heir to the Mellon family fortune).<a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-14">[14]</a> On August 23, 2024, Kennedy Jr.'s mask fully dropped: Kennedy Jr. suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump for president.<a href="#cite_note-apsuspended-15">[15]</a> As an apparent quid pro quo of sorts, that put him on track to set national health policy.<a href="#cite_note-16">[16]</a><a href="#cite_note-17">[17]</a> In November 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was nominated to join the Trump Administration in 2025 as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, and was confirmed on February 13, 2025.<a href="#cite_note-18">[18]</a><a href="#cite_note-19">[19]</a> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#A_house_divided.E2.80.A6">1 A house divided…</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#RFK_Sr._vs._RFK_Jr._on_vaccination">1.1 RFK Sr. vs. RFK Jr. on vaccination</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#JFK_vs._RFK_Jr._on_the_polio_vaccine">1.2 JFK vs. RFK Jr. on the polio vaccine</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Ted_Kennedy_vs._RFK_Jr._on_HIV.2FAIDS">1.3 Ted Kennedy vs. RFK Jr. on HIV/AIDS</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Other_family">1.4 Other family</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Crimes">2 Crimes</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Dumping_a_bear_carcass_on_public_property">2.1 Dumping a bear carcass on public property</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Riverkeeper">3 Riverkeeper</a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Anti-vaccine_activism">4 Anti-vaccine activism</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Starting_a_measles_outbreak_in_American_Samoa">4.1 Starting a measles outbreak in American Samoa</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#Anti-epidemiology_activism">4.2 Anti-epidemiology activism</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#COVID_conspiracy_theories">5 COVID conspiracy theories</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="#Feud_with_Fauci">5.1 Feud with Fauci</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="#Ethnic_bioweapon">5.2 Ethnic bioweapon</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#Presidential_run">6 Presidential run</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="#Donors">6.1 Donors</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17"><a href="#Nothing_bad_ever_happens_to_the_Kennedys">6.2 Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18"><a href="#Switch_to_an_independent_run">6.3 Switch to an independent run</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19"><a href="#Vanity_Fair_expos.C3.A9">6.4 Vanity Fair exposé</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#There.27s_a_dead_worm_in_my_brain.21">6.5 There's a dead worm in my brain!</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-21"><a href="#Alliance_with_Trump">7 Alliance with Trump</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22"><a href="#Dropping_out_to_endorse_Trump">7.1 Dropping out to endorse Trump</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23"><a href="#Campaigning_for_Trump">7.2 Campaigning for Trump</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24"><a href="#Role_in_the_second_Trump_administration">7.3 Role in the second Trump administration</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-25"><a href="#But_that.27s_not_all.2C_folks.21">8 But that's not all, folks!</a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26"><a href="#Chemicals_are_turning_the_frogs_trans.21">8.1 Chemicals are turning the frogs trans!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="#Antidepressants_cause_school_shootings.21_.28And_Elon_Musk_is_great.21.29">8.2 Antidepressants cause school shootings! (And Elon Musk is great!)</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="#Drink_raw_milk.21">8.3 Drink raw milk!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29"><a href="#Stem_cell_therapy.21">8.4 Stem cell therapy!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30"><a href="#Chemtrails.21">8.5 Chemtrails!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31"><a href="#The_government_is_out_to_get_us.21">8.6 The government is out to get us!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="#The_2004_election_was_stolen.21">8.7 The 2004 election was stolen!</a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="#The_CIA_killed_JFK.21">8.8 The CIA killed JFK!</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-34"><a href="#His_voice">9 His voice</a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-35"><a href="#External_links">10 External links</a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-36"><a href="#Notes">11 Notes</a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-37"><a href="#References">12 References</a></li> </ul> </div> <h2>A house divided…[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: A house divided…">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:President_John_F._Kennedy_and_his_nephew,_Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(RFK,_Jr.)_and_presented_his_uncle_with_a_salamander,_%22Shadrach%22_in_the_White_House_Oval_Office,_Washington,_D.C._on_11_March_1961_-_(AR6420-C).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/President_John_F._Kennedy_and_his_nephew%2C_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%28RFK%2C_Jr.%29_and_presented_his_uncle_with_a_salamander%2C_%22Shadrach%22_in_the_White_House_Oval_Office%2C_Washington%2C_D.C._on_11_March_1961_-_%28AR6420-C%29.jpg/325px-thumbnail.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="255" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/President_John_F._Kennedy_and_his_nephew%2C_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%28RFK%2C_Jr.%29_and_presented_his_uncle_with_a_salamander%2C_%22Shadrach%22_in_the_White_House_Oval_Office%2C_Washington%2C_D.C._on_11_March_1961_-_%28AR6420-C%29.jpg/488px-thumbnail.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/President_John_F._Kennedy_and_his_nephew%2C_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%28RFK%2C_Jr.%29_and_presented_his_uncle_with_a_salamander%2C_%22Shadrach%22_in_the_White_House_Oval_Office%2C_Washington%2C_D.C._on_11_March_1961_-_%28AR6420-C%29.jpg/650px-thumbnail.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="2352" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:President_John_F._Kennedy_and_his_nephew,_Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(RFK,_Jr.)_and_presented_his_uncle_with_a_salamander,_%22Shadrach%22_in_the_White_House_Oval_Office,_Washington,_D.C._on_11_March_1961_-_(AR6420-C).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>President John F. Kennedy with his nephew Robert Jr. in the Oval Office, 1961.</div></div></div> <h3>RFK Sr. vs. RFK Jr. on vaccination[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: RFK Sr. vs. RFK Jr. on vaccination">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy" title="Robert F. Kennedy">Robert F. Kennedy</a></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The accomplishments of <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> foreign assistance are already substantial — they are being felt in dozens of countries, all over the world. … Three quarters of a billion people will be safe from malaria,<a href="#cite_note-20">[note 1]</a> 77 million from smallpox, 7 million from cholera, because of vaccinations given in 1966 alone…. I believe the American people are ready to recognize that foreign aid is not a "give-away," but rather a moral obligation and a sound and necessary investment in the future.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy" title="Robert F. Kennedy">Robert F. Kennedy</a><a href="#cite_note-21">[20]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”There's no vaccine that is safe and effective.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<a href="#cite_note-22">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-SafeEffectiveCheck-23">[22]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>JFK vs. RFK Jr. on the polio vaccine[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: JFK vs. RFK Jr. on the polio vaccine">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”Today is the sixteenth anniversary of the death of President <a href="/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>. It is also the anniversary of the announcement that a vaccine has been discovered to prevent paralytic polio. … I hope that the renewed drive this spring and summer to provide vaccination for all Americans, and particularly those who are young, will have the wholehearted support of every parent in America. I hope that they, knowing some of the long range suffering which comes from an attack of polio — with this miraculous drug I hope that everyone takes advantage of it.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a>, 1961<a href="#cite_note-24">[23]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The polio vaccine contained a virus called simian virus 40, SV40. It’s one of the most carcinogenic materials that is known to man.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 2023<a href="#cite_note-SafeEffectiveCheck-23">[22]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Ted Kennedy vs. RFK Jr. on HIV/AIDS[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Ted Kennedy vs. RFK Jr. on HIV/AIDS">edit</a>]</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:377px;"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._(29540205430).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg/375px-The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="375" height="268" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg/563px-The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg/750px-The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._%2829540205430%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5600" data-file-height="4000" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Kennedy_family_poses_with_SECNAV_at_the_ship_name_unveiling._(29540205430).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Robert Jr. (center) poses with the rest of the Kennedy family during the naming ceremony of the USNS Robert Kennedy auxiliary ship, 2016.</div></div></div> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main articles on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Ted_Kennedy" title="Ted Kennedy">Ted Kennedy</a> and <a href="/wiki/HIV/AIDS" title="HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</a></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”It is now all the more important to provide resources to assist people with HIV disease obtain essential treatment. Science has given us the tools to help hundreds of thousands of people fight for life. What is lacking is an equitable formula for delivering those tools to Americans in need.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Ted_Kennedy" title="Ted Kennedy">Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy</a><a href="#cite_note-25">[24]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”They were doing phony, crooked studies to develop a cure that killed people, without really being able to understand what HIV was, and pumping up fear about it constantly, not really understanding whether it was causing AIDS.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<a href="#cite_note-26">[25]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Other family[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Other family">edit</a>]</h3> When he tried to run for the 2024 Democratic nomination, most of his notable family members openly endorsed President Biden, and only a handful of his children and grandchildren even bothered to show up when he launched his campaign.<a href="#cite_note-27">[26]</a> In 2023, his brother, Chris Kennedy, pretended not to know Robert Jr. was running for president, and his sister, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, outright refused to discuss him.<a href="#cite_note-28">[27]</a> His own wife, actress Cheryl Hines, has at times expressed her disapproval of his anti-vaccine activism, although she had publicly stated that she supports her husband for president.<a href="#cite_note-29">[28]</a> This family tension isn't new, either. In 2019, Kathleen, Kathleen's daughter Maeve, and Joe Kennedy II co-authored a Politico article expressing their "heartbreak" over Robert Kennedy Jr.'s harmful preoccupation with spreading misinformation.<a href="#cite_note-otherkenn-1">[1]</a> The harshest words came from JFK's grandson Jack Schlossberg, who said: <blockquote class="letter" style="width:auto; background:#f8f8ff; border:1px solid #C9C9CF;"> I've listened to him, I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is his candidacy is an embarrassment.<a href="#cite_note-30">[29]</a> </blockquote> JFK's last living child, Caroline Kennedy, also spoke on it after Trump announced he would nominate RFK Jr. to be his HHS Secretary: <blockquote class="letter" style="width:auto; background:#f8f8ff; border:1px solid #C9C9CF;"> I think Bobby Kennedy's views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don't think that most Americans share them, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I grew up with him, so I've known all this for a long time; others are just getting to know him.<a href="#cite_note-31">[30]</a> </blockquote> <h2>Crimes[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Crimes">edit</a>]</h2> In 1984, RFK pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of <a href="/wiki/Heroin" title="Heroin">heroin</a> possession in <a href="/wiki/South_Dakota" class="mw-redirect" title="South Dakota">South Dakota</a>, and was sentenced to probation.<a href="#cite_note-32">[31]</a> In 2002, he was also convicted of criminal trespass at the Vieques, <a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" class="mw-redirect" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a> military base for his part in a <a href="/wiki/Civil_disobedience" title="Civil disobedience">civil disobedience</a> action against <a href="/wiki/Pollution" title="Pollution">pollution</a> of the island by the military.<a href="#cite_note-33">[32]</a> For this, he was incarcerated for 30 days either in jail (as most news sources have reported) or in a maximum security prison by his own account.<a href="#cite_note-34">[33]</a> He was temporarily relieved of his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/compulsive_sexual_behaviour_disorder" class="extiw" title="wp:compulsive sexual behaviour disorder" rel="nofollow">compulsive sexual behaviour disorder</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> during his incarceration.<a href="#cite_note-35">[34]</a><a href="#cite_note-36">[35]</a> <h3>Dumping a bear carcass on public property[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Dumping a bear carcass on public property">edit</a>]</h3> In 2014, a bear cub was found dead beneath some bushes that had a bicycle sticking out in the middle of Central Park in <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" class="mw-redirect" title="New York City">New York City</a>. Many residents were disturbed by this occurrence, and as it was unlikely that a bear cub would wander so far into an urban area the NYPD was investigating this as animal cruelty, but the mystery wasn't solved and the case vanished from the public's memories.<a href="#cite_note-37">[36]</a> That was until a decade later, the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Post" title="New York Post">New York Post</a> was about to publish a story about the mystery including a photo of Kennedy with his hand in the dead bear's mouth.<a href="#cite_note-38">[37]</a> Kennedy decided he needed to get ahead of the story and so preemptively admitted that he was responsible in an interview with fellow-<a href="/wiki/Kook" class="mw-redirect" title="Kook">kook</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseanne_Barr" class="extiw" title="wp:Roseanne Barr" rel="nofollow">Roseanne Barr</a>.<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /><a href="#cite_note-39">[38]</a> According to Kennedy, when he was going <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/falconry" class="extiw" title="wp:falconry" rel="nofollow">falconing</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> in upstate <a href="/wiki/New_York" class="mw-redirect" title="New York">New York</a>, he saw a bear cub get hit by someone else's car and decided to put the carcass in the back of the van so he could eat it later, but as he was running late to catch a plane, he decided instead to dump the carcass in Central Park alongside a bicycle he wanted to get rid of in order to make it look like the cub was killed in a cycling accident.<a href="#cite_note-40">[39]</a><a href="#cite_note-41">[40]</a> These offenses of possession of a bear without a tag and illegal disposal of a bear would have been worth $250 in fines, but he could no longer be charged as the statute of limitations had passed.<a href="#cite_note-42">[41]</a> Bears can host parasitic worms, and RFK Jr. made the unlikely speculation that he may have gotten his brain worm from the bear, unlikely because he did not eat the bear.<a href="#cite_note-43">[42]</a> Was his pre-existing worm seeking a mate? <h2>Riverkeeper[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Riverkeeper">edit</a>]</h2> Prior to becoming an antivaxxer, Kennedy worked for the Riverkeeper <a href="/wiki/Environmentalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Environmentalist">environmentalist</a> organization as an attorney. He helped to win lawsuits against polluters and brought large donations to the organization from his <a href="/wiki/Celebrity" class="mw-redirect" title="Celebrity">celebrity</a> connections. He was also known as a serial <a href="/wiki/Deceit" title="Deceit">fabricator</a> among his colleagues, even going so far as to lie about founding Riverkeeper on his resignation letter. More damaging though was his hiring of a convicted wildlife smuggler to serve on the organization, which caused the actual founder and several board members to resign. A former treasurer of Riverkeeper who had resigned with the other board members believed that Kennedy had not changed from his time at Riverkeeper to his time as antivaxxer, by his use of omitting and distorting facts to manipulate people.<a href="#cite_note-44">[43]</a> Officially, Kennedy Jr. resigned from Riverkeeper in 2017. In reality, Riverkeeper staff, increasingly tired of Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccination <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a>, revolted when Kennedy Jr. met with <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> in January 2017 and afterwards claimed that Trump asked him to chair a "commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity" (a claim denied by Trump officials). Under pressure, rather than being forced out of the organization, Kennedy Jr. agreed to resign instead. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccination stances had previously led to similar conflicts and resignations with other environmental groups (such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Resources_Defense_Council" class="extiw" title="wp:Natural Resources Defense Council" rel="nofollow">Natural Resources Defense Council</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" />) prior to this event.<a href="#cite_note-vfairexpose-10">[10]</a> <h2>Anti-vaccine activism[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Anti-vaccine activism">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg/350px-Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="350" height="233" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg/525px-Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg/700px-Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4368" data-file-height="2912" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_Kennedy_Jr._speech_2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Kennedy gives a speech in <a href="/wiki/Illinois" class="mw-redirect" title="Illinois">Illinois</a>, 2007.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three,<a href="#cite_note-45">[note 2]</a> they go to <a href="/wiki/Sleep" title="Sleep">sleep</a>, and three months later their <a href="/wiki/Brain" title="Brain">brain</a> is gone. This is a <a href="/wiki/Holocaust" title="Holocaust">holocaust</a>, what this is doing to our country.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wins the "What The Fuck Is He Talking About?" Award for April 2015.<a href="#cite_note-46">[44]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> At one point, Kennedy co-hosted a <a href="/wiki/Liberal_talk_radio" title="Liberal talk radio">liberal talk radio</a> show called Ring of Fire, syndicated by Westwood One. Any of his broadcasts from before the pandemic had the exact same message, just in a more broadly palatable way with all of the less-savoury stuff <a href="/wiki/Just_asking_questions" title="Just asking questions">firmly sandwiched in deniability</a>.<a href="#cite_note-47">[45]</a> Kennedy departed from the show sometime in 2018.<a href="#cite_note-48">[46]</a><a href="#cite_note-49">[47]</a> Many of Kennedy's previous court cases involved claims of product safety violations and pollution by <a href="/wiki/Corporation" title="Corporation">corporations</a>. Since 2005, he has succumbed to <a href="/wiki/Vaccine_hysteria" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaccine hysteria">vaccine hysteria</a> and makes the sad mistake of <a href="/wiki/Autism_and_pseudoscience" class="mw-redirect" title="Autism and pseudoscience">peddling false hope</a> regarding the <a href="/wiki/Anti-vaccination_movement#Autism" title="Anti-vaccination movement">vaccine/autism conspiracy theory</a>. Kennedy wrote an article "Deadly Immunity" for Rolling Stone and Salon in 2005 alleging a link between vaccinations and autism; both outlets retracted that story in 2011.<a href="#cite_note-50">[48]</a> However, <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> considered Kennedy for a "vaccine safety" committee in 2018.<a href="#cite_note-51">[49]</a><a href="#cite_note-52">[50]</a> This is the point where his family members distanced themselves from him.<a href="#cite_note-53">[51]</a> In addition, Kennedy endorsed the conspiracy theory that the Republicans rigged the <a href="/wiki/2004_U.S._presidential_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2004 U.S. presidential election">2004 election</a>.<a href="#cite_note-elex-54">[52]</a> He is one of the "Disinformation Dozen", who are the twelve people behind 65% of all vaccine misinformation shared on <a href="/wiki/Social_media" class="mw-redirect" title="Social media">social media</a>.<a href="#cite_note-55">[53]</a> Kennedy's anti-vaccination group Children’s Health Defense (CHD) (formerly called the World Mercury Project) was one of the top two groups that spread misinformation about vaccines on <a href="/wiki/Facebook" title="Facebook">Facebook</a> via anti-vaccination <a href="/wiki/Advertisement" class="mw-redirect" title="Advertisement">advertisements</a> in 2019.<a href="#cite_note-56">[54]</a> Facebook (sort of) finally started to crack down on groups that spread <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> like this in 2020. CHD responded by suing Facebook for "<a href="/wiki/Censorship" title="Censorship">censorship</a>".<a href="#cite_note-57">[55]</a> (Despite his prior experience as a lawyer, Kennedy somehow failed to recognize what long-established case law currently says. Generally speaking, what's protected by the <a href="/wiki/First_Amendment" title="First Amendment">First Amendment</a> in this case is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Herald_Publishing_Co._v._Tornillo" class="extiw" title="wp:Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo" rel="nofollow">Facebook's right to utilize editorial judgment to prevent the publication of bullshit on their platform.</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" />). The damage by Facebook's <a href="/wiki/Laissez-faire" title="Laissez-faire">laissez-faire</a> attitude prior to 2020 had already been done however, Children’s Health Defense and three other antivax and <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_denialism" title="COVID-19 denialism">COVID denialist</a> groups profited and expanded enormously during the <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic" title="COVID-19 pandemic">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.<a href="#cite_note-weber-58">[56]</a> The three other groups were <a href="/wiki/Del_Bigtree" title="Del Bigtree">Del Bigtree</a>'s Informed Consent Action Network, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Line_Covid-19_Critical_Care_Alliance" class="extiw" title="wp:Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance" rel="nofollow">Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> and <a href="/wiki/Simone_Gold" title="Simone Gold">Simone Gold</a>'s America’s Frontline Doctors.<a href="#cite_note-weber-58">[56]</a> In 2022, Kennedy spoke a 2020 anti-vaxxer rally in <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> sponsored by the <a href="/wiki/Far-right" class="mw-redirect" title="Far-right">far-right</a> <a href="/wiki/National_Democratic_Party_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="National Democratic Party of Germany">National Democratic Party of Germany</a> that included <a href="/wiki/Neo-Nazis" class="mw-redirect" title="Neo-Nazis">neo-Nazis</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hare_Krishnas" class="mw-redirect" title="Hare Krishnas">Hare Krishnas</a>.<a href="#cite_note-59">[57]</a> In response to a <a href="/wiki/Daily_Kos" title="Daily Kos">Daily Kos</a> blogger reporting about Kennedy's speaking at the rally,<a href="#cite_note-60">[58]</a> the blogger was <a href="/wiki/Bullied" class="mw-redirect" title="Bullied">bullied</a> by Kennedy and by his lawyer, Robert Barnes.<a href="#cite_note-bredderman-61">[59]</a> The duo had threatened a lawsuit against the blogger unless the blogger took down the article, and consequently put the lie to Kennedy being pro-<a href="/wiki/Free_speech" class="mw-redirect" title="Free speech">free speech</a>.<a href="#cite_note-bredderman-61">[59]</a> <h3>Starting a measles outbreak in American Samoa[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Starting a measles outbreak in American Samoa">edit</a>]</h3> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”In 2018 Kennedy involved himself in a largely forgotten vaccine controversy in the <a href="/wiki/American_Samoa" class="mw-redirect" title="American Samoa">American Samoan</a> islands. That year, two children died after receiving the <a href="/wiki/MMR_vaccine" title="MMR vaccine">MMR vaccine</a>, sparking an island-wide furor. Though it was later revealed that two nurses made a critical error administering the vaccines, accidentally introducing expired muscle relaxants into the formula, Kennedy’s nonprofit took to social media to <a href="/wiki/Hyperbole" title="Hyperbole">hype</a> the deaths as evidence of vaccine dangers. Under public pressure, the Samoan prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi halted MMR vaccines on the island. In June of 2019 Kennedy and Hines flew to Samoa, lending celebrity wattage to local anti-vaccine advocates, giving press interviews, and taking a private meeting with the PM. Over the ensuing months, the island was hit by the largest measles outbreak in its history, infecting 5,707 citizens and killing 83 people, most of them children. The outbreak was so lethal, the prime minister declared a state of emergency and ordered mandatory vaccinations, eventually curtailing the spread.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Vanity Fair.<a href="#cite_note-vfairexpose-10">[10]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> Three years after Kennedy's disastrous presence in Samoa, he characterized the measles outbreak as "mild",<a href="#cite_note-rfk-62">[60]</a> while <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">cluelessly</a> linking to the pro-vaccination UNICEF article about their response to combatting the outbreak with a vaccination campaign.<a href="#cite_note-rfk-62">[60]</a><a href="#cite_note-63">[61]</a> In 2024, after Kennedy's nomination to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Ekeroma" class="extiw" title="wp:Alec Ekeroma" rel="nofollow">Aiono Prof Alec Ekeroma</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> the director general of health for American Samoa's Health Ministry, said that should Kennedy lead the DHHS, he "will be directly responsible for killing thousands of children around the world by allowing preventable infectious diseases to run rampant."<a href="#cite_note-westfall-64">[62]</a> Several other health and medical experts have also called the idea of Kennedy's appointment to lead the DHHS as disastrous not just for US health but for global health because the US <a href="/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration" title="Food and Drug Administration">Food and Drug Administration</a> (part of DHHS) has been a global leader in health standards.<a href="#cite_note-westfall-64">[62]</a> <h3>Anti-epidemiology activism[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Anti-epidemiology activism">edit</a>]</h3> Although it can be accurately argued that his anti-vaccine activism is in itself a form of opposition to the research and treatment of infectious diseases, Kennedy is elsewhere quite explicit in that anyhow. He promised to order the National Institutes of Health to cease any research of infectious diseases for "about eight years" if elected president; he believes they should research <a href="/wiki/Obesity" title="Obesity">obesity</a> and diabetes instead (a view that presents this as a <a href="/wiki/False_dichotomy" class="mw-redirect" title="False dichotomy">false dichotomy</a> or <a href="/wiki/Zero_sum_game" class="mw-redirect" title="Zero sum game">zero sum game</a>).<a href="#cite_note-65">[63]</a><a href="#cite_note-66">[64]</a> He also said in June 2023: "I do not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health."<a href="#cite_note-ThreatToHealth-67">[65]</a> That pretty well speaks for itself. He has also attempted to tie the true cause of various diseases (even <a href="/wiki/World_War_I#The_Spanish_Flu" title="World War I">"Spanish Flu"</a>) to vaccine research, and has even promoted <a href="/wiki/HIV/AIDS_denialism" title="HIV/AIDS denialism">HIV/AIDS denialism</a>.<a href="#cite_note-ThreatToHealth-67">[65]</a> The proposed end of infectious disease research essentially amounts to <a href="/wiki/Germ_theory_denialism" title="Germ theory denialism">germ theory denialism</a>, or at least serious callousness on his part, since significant numbers of deaths in the United States are due to infectious bacterial diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, salmonella, <a href="/wiki/Lyme_disease" title="Lyme disease">Lyme disease</a> and meningococcal disease).<a href="#cite_note-68">[66]</a> Infectious diseases also cause many deaths caused abroad.<a href="#cite_note-69">[67]</a> As confirmation of Kennedy's germ theory denialism, he was photographed walking barefoot out of an airplane toilet, and issuing a non-apology apology for doing this while he was barefoot in the airport waiting area.<a href="#cite_note-70">[68]</a><a href="#cite_note-72">[note 3]</a> Somebody tell him he might accidentally step on a vaccine needle, please. <h2>COVID conspiracy theories[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: COVID conspiracy theories">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg/275px-RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="367" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg/413px-RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg/550px-RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3024" data-file-height="4032" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:RFK_Jr._book_Dirt_Cowboy_Cafe_7_South_Main_Street_downtown_Hanover_NH_July_2023.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Copies of RFK Jr's conspiracy theory book displayed next to a photo of his uncle (who is turning in his grave).</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The issue with Kennedy is that he long ago entered his own <a href="/wiki/Walled_garden" title="Walled garden">curated world</a> of <a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">pseudoscience</a>, in which every respectable position was presumptively false and every major world event presumptively engineered by secretive <a href="/wiki/Elite" class="mw-redirect" title="Elite">elites</a>. This is a mental model that has no braking system. Kennedy can only go further and further into his fever swamp, and every effort to contradict him merely demonstrates that his enemies are determined to silence him.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Johnathan Chait<a href="#cite_note-chait-73">[70]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> Unsurprisingly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy started regurgitating many of the other <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theories" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy theories">conspiracy theories</a> that sprang up during that time period, such as conspiracy theories surrounding <a href="/wiki/Bill_Gates" title="Bill Gates">Bill Gates</a><a href="#cite_note-74">[71]</a> and <a href="/wiki/5G" title="5G">5G</a>.<a href="#cite_note-75">[72]</a> Kennedy's embrace of conspiracy theories extended to believing the COVID-19 hysteria story that <a href="/wiki/2019-20_COVID-19_outbreak#Blaming_Bill_Gates" class="mw-redirect" title="2019-20 COVID-19 outbreak">Bill Gates was going to put microchips in vaccines</a>.<a href="#cite_note-76">[73]</a> On September 29, 2021, Kennedy (along with fellow anti-vaccination advocate <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Mercola" title="Joseph Mercola">Joseph Mercola</a>) was booted off <a href="/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube">YouTube</a> for being a prominent spreader of anti-vaccination bullshit.<a href="#cite_note-77">[74]</a> One of Kennedy's favorite rhetorical devices is to evoke <a href="/wiki/Nazi_analogies" title="Nazi analogies">Nazi analogies</a> by comparing vaccines and other COVID-19 public health safety measures to <a href="/wiki/Nazis" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazis">Nazis</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Holocaust" title="Holocaust">Holocaust</a>. On January 25, 2022, for instance, Kennedy was widely denounced for comparing vaccine-mandate opponents to <a href="/wiki/Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="Jews">Jews</a> who hid from Nazis during the Holocaust, even implying that for some reason <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank" class="extiw" title="wp:Anne Frank" rel="nofollow">Anne Frank</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> actually had it better than the so-called "<a href="/wiki/Fascism" title="Fascism">fascism</a>" that National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Fauci" class="extiw" title="wp:Anthony Fauci" rel="nofollow">Anthony Fauci</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> was orchestrating. This was hardly the first time that Kennedy had used Nazi analogies in his remarks on the subject.<a href="#cite_note-78">[75]</a><a href="#cite_note-79">[76]</a> <h3>Feud with Fauci[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Feud with Fauci">edit</a>]</h3> In mid-November 2021, Kennedy wrote The Real Anthony Fauci, a book of conspiratorial <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> linking Gates, Fauci, and <a href="/wiki/Big_Pharma" title="Big Pharma">Big Pharma</a> to some kind of "Global War On Democracy and Public Health",<a href="#cite_note-real-80">[77]</a> which earned Kennedy high endorsements from the <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theorists" class="mw-redirect" title="Conspiracy theorists">conspiracy theorists</a> and/or <a href="/wiki/Alternative_medicine" title="Alternative medicine">alternative medicine</a> folks that you'd expect (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Tucker_Carlson" title="Tucker Carlson">Tucker Carlson</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mike_Adams" class="mw-redirect" title="Mike Adams">Mike Adams</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Malone" class="extiw" title="wp:Robert W. Malone" rel="nofollow">Robert W. Malone</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Mercola" title="Joseph Mercola">Joseph Mercola</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sayer_Ji" class="mw-redirect" title="Sayer Ji">Sayer Ji</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sherri_Tenpenny" title="Sherri Tenpenny">Sherri Tenpenny</a>, etc.). Later, in an interview done by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(magazine)" class="extiw" title="wp:Spin (magazine)" rel="nofollow">SPIN</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> in January 2022, Kennedy promoted the sort of conspiracy <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> that fueled this book:<a href="#cite_note-spininterview-81">[78]</a> <ul><li>Kennedy made an unsupported conspiratorial claim that an early drug to treat <a href="/wiki/HIV" class="mw-redirect" title="HIV">HIV</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zidovudine" class="extiw" title="wp:Zidovudine" rel="nofollow">AZT</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> (which he falsely claimed to be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chemotherapy" class="extiw" title="wp:chemotherapy" rel="nofollow">chemotherapy</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> drug), ended up causing "dramatically shortened" lives (also a false claim).<a href="#cite_note-82">[79]</a> Naturally, since Fauci was involved in HIV drug research at the time, Kennedy uses these falsehoods to attack him as an agent of Big Pharma who conspired to promote expensive drugs at the expense of cheap generics in order to pad Big Pharma profits. To further this argument, he bizarrely stated that a medicine called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pentamidine" class="extiw" title="wp:pentamidine" rel="nofollow">pentamidine</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> was very effective against HIV. (Pentamidine does not treat HIV directly; it was approved by the <a href="/wiki/FDA" class="mw-redirect" title="FDA">FDA</a> in 1989 to treat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pneumocystis_carinii_pneumonia" class="extiw" title="wp:pneumocystis carinii pneumonia" rel="nofollow">pneumocystis carinii pneumonia</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> a condition largely seen (but not exclusively) in AIDS patients, and at present is far from the only drug available to treat this condition.<a href="#cite_note-83">[80]</a><a href="#cite_note-84">[81]</a>)</li> <li>Kennedy promoted <a href="/wiki/Hydroxychloroquine" class="mw-redirect" title="Hydroxychloroquine">hydroxychloroquine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ivermectin" class="mw-redirect" title="Ivermectin">ivermectin</a>, similarly believing that these drugs were being oppressed solely due to <a href="/wiki/Big_Pharma" title="Big Pharma">Big Pharma</a> not wanting to promote out-of-<a href="/wiki/Patent" title="Patent">patent</a> medications. Contrary to the medical literature of the time, he also believed that these medications worked. To prove this, he cited high usage of these drugs in Africa and Asia, and low death rates per capita in many nations in these continents. (This, of course, completely ignores that perhaps other factors contributed to these low mortality rates, such as massive under-reporting in Africa,<a href="#cite_note-85">[82]</a> and greater acceptance of public health measures such as <a href="/wiki/Face_masks" title="Face masks">face masks</a> in many Asian countries.<a href="#cite_note-86">[83]</a> This also ignores the high mortality rate in other countries that also use hydroxychloroquine to treat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/malaria" class="extiw" title="wp:malaria" rel="nofollow">malaria</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> and ivermectin to treat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/river_blindness" class="extiw" title="wp:river blindness" rel="nofollow">river blindness</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> such as many Latin American countries.<a href="#cite_note-87">[84]</a><a href="#cite_note-88">[85]</a>)</li> <li>He repeated an unproven theory,<a href="#cite_note-89">[86]</a> often iterated and grossly exaggerated by <a href="/wiki/Rand_Paul" title="Rand Paul">Rand Paul</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tucker_Carlson" title="Tucker Carlson">Tucker Carlson</a>, that "gain of function" research in Wuhan may have been a factor in starting the pandemic.</li> <li>He insisted that the COVID-19 virus was man-made, citing a theory that linked the COVID-19 virus to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B2ji%C4%81ng_virus" class="extiw" title="wp:Mòjiāng virus" rel="nofollow">Mòjiāng virus</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /><a href="#cite_note-90">[87]</a> a theory which has been discredited in a January 2022 study.<a href="#cite_note-91">[88]</a></li> <li>He bizarrely compared Australian <a href="/wiki/COVID-19" class="mw-redirect" title="COVID-19">COVID-19</a> quarantine hotels, used to isolate unvaccinated travellers returning to the country for 14 days to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk,<a href="#cite_note-spininterview-81">[78]</a><a href="#cite_note-92">[89]</a> to "<a href="/wiki/Concentration_camps" class="mw-redirect" title="Concentration camps">concentration camps</a>".</li> <li>He claimed, without any foundation, that COVID-19 public health measures were a "<a href="/wiki/Coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" title="Coup d'état">coup d'état</a> against <a href="/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a>".<a href="#cite_note-real-80">[77]</a><a href="#cite_note-93">[90]</a></li> <li>To top things off, he endorsed the <a href="/wiki/Epoch_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="Epoch Times">Epoch Times</a> as the best source for <a href="/wiki/Fake_news" title="Fake news">"real news"</a>,<a href="#cite_note-spininterview-81">[78]</a> if for no other reason than he gets voluminous favorable coverage there.<a href="#cite_note-94">[91]</a></li></ul> When confronted by the interviewer with the fact that new COVID-19 cases at the time were overwhelmingly the un-vaccinated, he <a href="/wiki/Handwave" title="Handwave">handwaved</a> away this argument by claiming that this was the result of "crazy <a href="/wiki/Statistical" class="mw-redirect" title="Statistical">statistical</a> gimmicks", citing a bit of his "statistical dancing" of his own imagination to "prove" this.<a href="#cite_note-spininterview-81">[78]</a> Fauci responded by calling Kennedy a "very disturbed individual" who was "just full of inaccuracies and distortions".<a href="#cite_note-95">[92]</a> <h3>Ethnic bioweapon[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Ethnic bioweapon">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">For more information, see: <a href="/wiki/Ethnic_bioweapon" title="Ethnic bioweapon">ethnic bioweapon</a></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The respite from <a href="/wiki/Antisemitism" title="Antisemitism">antisemitism</a> was doomed to end. Conspiracy theorists are drawn gravitationally to the Jews, and Kennedy was only able to defy it for so long before his natural and predetermined course set in.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Johnathan Chait<a href="#cite_note-chait-73">[70]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> On July 15 2023, the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Post" title="New York Post">New York Post</a> published a video at a press event in Manhattan, where Kennedy Jr. argued that COVID-19 was an "ethnically targeted" microbe ("COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately. COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and <a href="/wiki/Chinese" class="mw-redirect" title="Chinese">Chinese</a>.") with an implication that the virus was engineered.<a href="#cite_note-96">[93]</a> These comments triggered significant backlash, with multiple organizations accusing Kennedy of <a href="/wiki/Antisemitism" title="Antisemitism">antisemitism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Racism" title="Racism">racism</a>/Sinophobia. Multiple members of the Kennedy family likewise condemned the remarks as "deplorable", "hurtful", and "wrong".<a href="#cite_note-97">[94]</a> Responding to the backlash, Kennedy took to <a href="/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter">Twitter</a> to deny his seemingly antisemitic remarks. Instead, he claimed that <a href="/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts" title="Moving the goalposts">what he meant</a> was that he believed the United States and other governments were developing ethnically targeted bio-weapons.<a href="#cite_note-98">[95]</a><a href="#cite_note-99">[96]</a> To "prove" his point, he cited a single study of a very narrow and specific topic (genetic susceptibility of COVID-19 due to various <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiotensin-converting_enzyme_2" class="extiw" title="wp:Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2" rel="nofollow">ACE2</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TMPRSS2" class="extiw" title="wp:TMPRSS2" rel="nofollow">TMPRSS2</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymorphism_(biology)" class="extiw" title="wp:Polymorphism (biology)" rel="nofollow">polymorphisms</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /><a href="#cite_note-100">[97]</a>) that hardly justified Kennedy's sweeping claims.<a href="#cite_note-101">[98]</a> Contrary to his idea, people of Chinese descent were among the most severely affected in <a href="/wiki/New_York" class="mw-redirect" title="New York">New York</a> in 2020. According to a study published in Public Health Reports, Chinese New Yorkers from March 1 through May 31, 2020 actually had the highest mortality rate (35.7%) of any ethnicity observed.<a href="#cite_note-102">[99]</a><a href="#cite_note-103">[100]</a> That study didn't distinguish people of Jewish descent as a group, however Hasidic (a subcategory of <a href="/wiki/Haredi" class="mw-redirect" title="Haredi">Haredi</a> Jews) communities in New York were noted at the time to have been hard-hit by COVID-19. One person in the community stated in April 2020, "There is not a single Hasidic family that has been untouched. It is a plague on a <a href="/wiki/Biblical" class="mw-redirect" title="Biblical">biblical</a> scale."<a href="#cite_note-104">[101]</a> <h2>Presidential run[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Presidential run">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png/325px-Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="325" height="168" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png/488px-Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png/650px-Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="874" data-file-height="452" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F_Kennedy_Jr_Campaign_Logo.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>…in alienating your family members through your obsession with conspiracy theories!</div></div></div> In April 2023, Kennedy Jr. announced that he was running for US president in 2024 as a <a href="/wiki/Democrat" class="mw-redirect" title="Democrat">Democrat</a>, in a long-shot attempt to primary <a href="/wiki/Joe_Biden" title="Joe Biden">Joe Biden</a>.<a href="#cite_note-105">[102]</a><a href="#cite_note-106">[103]</a> By and large, the rest of the Kennedy family strongly opposed his campaign, due to RFK Jr.'s conspiracy theories on vaccines and other topics.<a href="#cite_note-107">[104]</a> Kennedy's campaign has been described as a Democratic version of Trump, a "cynical mix of <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_celebrity" title="Appeal to celebrity">star power</a> and <a href="/wiki/Deceit" title="Deceit">misinformation</a>" and a "dark strand of <a href="/wiki/Populism" title="Populism">populism</a> mixed with <a href="/wiki/Delusions_of_grandeur" title="Delusions of grandeur">self-grandeur and self-created reality</a>."<a href="#cite_note-108">[105]</a> Kennedy has also been described as combining a smattering of <a href="/wiki/Progressive" class="mw-redirect" title="Progressive">progressive</a> views (such as on <a href="/wiki/Economic_inequality" title="Economic inequality">wealth inequality</a>) with positions more in line with <a href="/wiki/MAGA" class="mw-redirect" title="MAGA">MAGA</a> (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Anti-vaccination" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-vaccination">anti-vaccination</a> stances, aminosity towards {Anthony Fauci, and <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin" title="Vladimir Putin">Vladimir Putin</a> boot-licking on the <a href="/wiki/Ukraine#2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>)<a href="#cite_note-msnbckenop-109">[106]</a><a href="#cite_note-110">[107]</a><a href="#cite_note-111">[108]</a> and <a href="/wiki/Libertarians" class="mw-redirect" title="Libertarians">libertarians</a> (e.g. his first appearance as a presidential candidate was at a <a href="/wiki/Cryptocurrency" class="mw-redirect" title="Cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</a> conference).<a href="#cite_note-112">[109]</a><a href="#cite_note-msnbckenop-109">[106]</a> In a sign of his heavy tilt, in defiance of his declared political affiliation, towards the <a href="/wiki/Crank" title="Crank">crank</a> side of <a href="/wiki/Republicans" class="mw-redirect" title="Republicans">Republicans</a>, on June 20 2023, Kennedy Jr. was announced as a guest speaker at a gathering in Philadelphia that month of the anti-government extremist group <a href="/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty" title="Moms for Liberty">Moms for Liberty</a>,<a href="#cite_note-113">[110]</a><a href="#cite_note-newsweekmom-114">[111]</a> a group who also made headlines that week when one chapter featured (and seemingly endorsed) an <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> quote in their online newsletter.<a href="#cite_note-indystar-115">[112]</a><a href="#cite_note-116">[note 4]</a> Tellingly, also appearing at the conference were many of the <a href="/wiki/Republican" class="mw-redirect" title="Republican">Republican</a> 2024 primary election candidates (<a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ron_DeSantis" title="Ron DeSantis">Ron DeSantis</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vivek_Ramaswamy" title="Vivek Ramaswamy">Vivek Ramaswamy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nikki_Haley" title="Nikki Haley">Nikki Haley</a>),<a href="#cite_note-117">[113]</a> as well as other conservative figures such as <a href="/wiki/Dennis_Prager" title="Dennis Prager">Dennis Prager</a> and <a href="/wiki/Heritage_Foundation" class="mw-redirect" title="Heritage Foundation">Heritage Foundation</a> president Kevin Roberts.<a href="#cite_note-newsweekmom-114">[111]</a> At the time of the announcement, Kennedy appeared to be the only Democrat scheduled to speak at this gathering.<a href="#cite_note-118">[114]</a> Prior to this, Kennedy had made appearances on podcasts hosted by other figures with a notable appetite for crankery, such as <a href="/wiki/Joe_Rogan" title="Joe Rogan">Joe Rogan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Steve_Bannon" title="Steve Bannon">Steve Bannon</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Jordan_Peterson" title="Jordan Peterson">Jordan Peterson</a>.<a href="#cite_note-newsweekmom-114">[111]</a><a href="#cite_note-119">[115]</a> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/3/33/Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg/325px-Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="221" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/3/33/Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg/488px-Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/3/33/Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg/650px-Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="544" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Flynn-RFKJr-Bollinger-Stone.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The <a href="/wiki/Ratfucker" class="mw-redirect" title="Ratfucker">ratfuckers</a>' choice! Left-to-right: <a href="/wiki/QAnon" title="QAnon">QAnon</a> promoter <a href="/wiki/Michael_Flynn" title="Michael Flynn">Michael Flynn</a>, RFK Jr., <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_denialism" title="COVID-19 denialism">COVID denialist</a> grifter <a href="/wiki/Charlene_Bollinger" class="mw-redirect" title="Charlene Bollinger">Charlene Bollinger</a>, ratfucker-in-chief <a href="/wiki/Roger_Stone" title="Roger Stone">Roger Stone</a></div></div></div> As a sign of his appeal to crank libertarians, Kennedy was endorsed by former <a href="/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter">Twitter</a> CEO <a href="/wiki/Jack_Dorsey" title="Jack Dorsey">Jack Dorsey</a>, most likely due to shared sympathies for cryptocurrencies.<a href="#cite_note-120">[116]</a><a href="#cite_note-121">[117]</a> Also, in early June 2023, the then-current Twitter owner <a href="/wiki/Elon_Musk" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a> (fresh off of a disastrously botched presidential launch for <a href="/wiki/Ron_DeSantis" title="Ron DeSantis">Ron DeSantis</a>) boosted Kennedy with an online audio chat on Twitter. During this chat, true to form, Kennedy blamed <a href="/wiki/Antidepressants" class="mw-redirect" title="Antidepressants">Prozac</a> for the rise of <a href="/wiki/Mass_shooting" title="Mass shooting">mass shootings</a> in America, claimed without evidence that "<a href="/wiki/COVID-19" class="mw-redirect" title="COVID-19">COVID</a> was clearly a bioweapons problem", and was outspoken against the US military support of Ukraine.<a href="#cite_note-122">[118]</a><a href="#cite_note-123">[119]</a> Kennedy fielded questions during the chat from other public figures with similar stances to Musk and Kennedy, such as the Putin apologist <a href="/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard" title="Tulsi Gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard</a><a href="#cite_note-124">[120]</a> and the anti-progressive,<a href="#cite_note-125">[121]</a> anti-<a href="/wiki/Woke" title="Woke">woke</a>,<a href="#cite_note-126">[122]</a> anti-<a href="/wiki/Renewable_energy" title="Renewable energy">renewable energy</a><a href="#cite_note-127">[123]</a> and <a href="/wiki/Transphobic" class="mw-redirect" title="Transphobic">transphobic</a> hysteric<a href="#cite_note-128">[124]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Shellenberger" class="extiw" title="wp:Michael Shellenberger" rel="nofollow">Michael Shellenberger</a>.<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /><a href="#cite_note-129">[125]</a> In California, Kennedy and his running-mate Shanahan were on the <a href="/wiki/American_Independent_Party" title="American Independent Party">American Independent Party</a> ticket, which has long been associated with <a href="/wiki/Segregationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Segregationist">segregationists</a> and <a href="/wiki/Racists" class="mw-redirect" title="Racists">racists</a>, starting with its founder, <a href="/wiki/George_Wallace" title="George Wallace">George Wallace</a>.<a href="#cite_note-kornfield-130">[126]</a> Kennedy has claimed that the party has changed since its founding, but the evidence seems otherwise: in the 2020 Presidential Election raging antisemite <a href="/wiki/Ye" class="mw-redirect" title="Ye">Ye</a> was their Vice Presidential candidate, and as recently as 2022, they were promoting their former chairman Robert J. Walters' <a href="/wiki/Racialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Racialist">racialist</a> book.<a href="#cite_note-kornfield-130">[126]</a> <h3>Donors[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Donors">edit</a>]</h3> As of June 30, 2023, a plurality (38.5%) of his donors, among those who contributed the maximum individual amount (96 individuals total), were <a href="/wiki/GOP" class="mw-redirect" title="GOP">GOP</a> donors. 19.8% were Democratic donors, 31.3% had no such history of recorded political contributions, 8.3% had donated to both parties, and 2.1% had donated to third parties.<a href="#cite_note-131">[127]</a><a href="#cite_note-132">[128]</a> The campaign reported that it had received about $6.3 million dollars in donations altogether, as of July 2023. At least $100,000 of that came from donors who were also Trump or DeSantis committee donors. Six notable big donors to RFK Jr.'s campaign, in particular, are hedge fund billionaire <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ackman" class="extiw" title="wp:Bill Ackman" rel="nofollow">Bill Ackman</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> (also a Vivek Ramaswamy fan), former PayPal executive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_O._Sacks" class="extiw" title="wp:David O. Sacks" rel="nofollow">David O. Sacks</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> (an Elon Musk ally), billionaire <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher" class="extiw" title="wp:Kenneth Fisher" rel="nofollow">Kenneth Fisher</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> Wall Street banking executive Omeed Malik, former Bank of America executive Joe Voboril, and apparently even racist <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">English</a> <a href="/wiki/Music" title="Music">musician</a> <a href="/wiki/Eric_Clapton" class="mw-redirect" title="Eric Clapton">Eric Clapton</a>, despite the fact that such donations from foreign nationals would be illegal according to CNBC.<a href="#cite_note-133">[129]</a><a href="#cite_note-134">[130]</a><a href="#cite_note-135">[131]</a> On July 31, 2023, a <a href="/wiki/Super_PAC" class="mw-redirect" title="Super PAC">super PAC</a> supporting RFK Jr., American Values 2024, released its mid-year financial disclosures. This disclosed that more than half ($5 million) of the PAC's money for the first half of 2023 ($9.8 million) came from GOP megadonor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Mellon" class="extiw" title="wp:Timothy Mellon" rel="nofollow">Timothy Mellon</a>.<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> Mellon has previously donated millions of dollars to pro-Trump groups. A further $4.7 million came from another individual, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_de_Becker" class="extiw" title="wp:Gavin de Becker" rel="nofollow">Gavin de Becker</a>.<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> De Becker was previously a donor to US Senator <a href="/wiki/Ron_Johnson" title="Ron Johnson">Ron Johnson</a>, a Republican, although de Becker otherwise identifies himself as a Democrat.<a href="#cite_note-136">[132]</a><a href="#cite_note-137">[133]</a> Kennedy picked Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. Prior to being picked, she had been a major donor to the American Values PAC that supported Kennedy.<a href="#cite_note-138">[134]</a> She is the former spouse of <a href="/wiki/Google" title="Google">Google</a> co-founder Sergei Brin. Shanahan is also an anti-vaxxer, but she tries to confuse people by denying this and claiming that she is just skeptical of vaccines.<a href="#cite_note-139">[135]</a> <h3>Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys">edit</a>]</h3> In September 2023, a man falsely impersonating a federal officer and wielding a loaded gun was arrested at an RFK Jr. event.<a href="#cite_note-Wigglesworth-140">[136]</a> The Kennedy campaign claimed the man asked to be "immediately" taken to Kennedy and erroneously claimed to be part of his security detail.<a href="#cite_note-Wigglesworth-140">[136]</a><a href="#cite_note-141">[137]</a> It doesn't take a genius to figure out this joker may have wanted to become the next <a href="/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald" title="Lee Harvey Oswald">Lee Harvey Oswald</a>. <h3>Switch to an independent run[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Switch to an independent run">edit</a>]</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Jesse_Ventura_(53514290983).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg/250px-Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg/375px-Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg/500px-Jesse_Ventura_%2853514290983%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="6720" data-file-height="4480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Jesse_Ventura_(53514290983).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Former pro-wrestler/<a href="/wiki/Minnesota" class="mw-redirect" title="Minnesota">Minnesota</a> governor Jesse Ventura campaigning for Kennedy in the critical swing state of <a href="/wiki/Arizona" class="mw-redirect" title="Arizona">Arizona</a> in 2024.</div></div></div> On October 9, 2023, Kennedy Jr. ended his primary challenge and announced that he was running for president as an independent.<a href="#cite_note-142">[138]</a> Reports suggest that by March 2024, Kennedy and his team had approached at least half a dozen people to serve as his running mate on an independent ticket, including <a href="/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard" title="Tulsi Gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rand_Paul" title="Rand Paul">Rand Paul</a> and <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Yang" title="Andrew Yang">Andrew Yang</a>, but that only fellow cranks <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Rodgers" class="extiw" title="wp:Aaron Rodgers" rel="nofollow">Aaron Rodgers</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> and <a href="/wiki/Jesse_Ventura" title="Jesse Ventura">Jesse Ventura</a> had shown any interest.<a href="#cite_note-143">[139]</a> He received the nominations of the <a href="/wiki/American_Independent_Party" title="American Independent Party">American Independent Party</a><a href="#cite_note-kornfield-130">[126]</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Reform_Party" title="Reform Party">Reform Party</a>.<a href="#cite_note-144">[140]</a> <h3>Vanity Fair exposé[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Vanity Fair exposé">edit</a>]</h3> On July 2, 2024, the magazine <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_Fair_(magazine)" class="extiw" title="wp:Vanity Fair (magazine)" rel="nofollow">Vanity Fair</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> posted a long expose of Kennedy with several disturbing and bizarre allegations. Among the revelations were an allegation that he bragged about eating a <a href="/wiki/Dog" class="mw-redirect" title="Dog">dog</a> in Korea; that Kennedy was sexually involved with dozens of women during his marriage to second wife Mary Richardson; that Kennedy had a habit of texting nude photos of women to friends during this same marriage; and that in the late 1990s, Kennedy <a href="/wiki/Rape" title="Rape">sexually assaulted</a> a babysitter. The article also detailed his involvement in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Martha_Moxley" class="extiw" title="wp:Murder of Martha Moxley" rel="nofollow">Murder of Martha Moxley</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> case, where Kennedy attested to the innocence of convicted murderer (and cousin) Michael Skakel with what Martha Moxley's mother Dorthy (and others) saw as a series of <a href="/wiki/Deceit" title="Deceit">twisted truths and flat out falsehoods</a>.<a href="#cite_note-vfairexpose-10">[10]</a> Kennedy denied the dog-eating allegation but brushed off other allegations in the article, calling the Vanity Fair article "a lot of garbage" but simultaneously stating "I'm not a church boy… I had a very, very rambunctious youth".<a href="#cite_note-145">[note 5]</a> Kennedy also refused to comment on the alleged sexual assault.<a href="#cite_note-146">[141]</a><a href="#cite_note-147">[142]</a> <h3>There's a dead worm in my brain![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: There's a dead worm in my brain!">edit</a>]</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:337px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(53514290788).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg/335px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="335" height="223" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg/503px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg/670px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853514290788%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5787" data-file-height="3858" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(53514290788).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Sorry, but this image is too funny to not put here.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—William Blake<a href="#cite_note-148">[143]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> In 2024, RFK announced that there was a dead <a href="/wiki/Parasite" title="Parasite">parasitic</a> worm in his brain, and that it was inoperable.<a href="#cite_note-craig-149">[144]</a> It was suspected to be a <a href="/wiki/Pork" title="Pork">pork</a> tapeworm, which is exceedingly rare in the United States, but that he may have picked up in his travels. He was also diagnosed with <a href="/wiki/Mercury" title="Mercury">mercury</a> poisoning apparently from his insatiable appetite for tunafish sandwiches, and with short- and long-term memory loss in 2012.<a href="#cite_note-craig-149">[144]</a> He claimed to have recovered from the memory loss, but gave the wrong answer about the worm: <blockquote class="letter" style="width:auto; background:#f8f8ff; border:1px solid #C9C9CF;"> I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a <a href="/wiki/Debate" title="Debate">debate</a>. I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap.<a href="#cite_note-150">[145]</a> </blockquote> <h2>Alliance with Trump[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Alliance with Trump">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_(53952973703).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg/350px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="350" height="233" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg/525px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg/700px-Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_%2853952973703%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="6201" data-file-height="4134" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._%26_Donald_Trump_(53952973703).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Kennedy campaigns with Donald Trump in <a href="/wiki/Arizona" class="mw-redirect" title="Arizona">Arizona</a>.</div></div></div> <h3>Dropping out to endorse Trump[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Dropping out to endorse Trump">edit</a>]</h3> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”My fellow worms and Americans, It is I, your friend, the worm who ate part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s brain, then died. […] Ultimately, this came down to values. I say now what I have said this whole campaign: I am a parasite and I do not have the country’s best interests at heart. So it is clear to me now that I have no choice but to drop out of the race and support Donald Trump.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Alexandra Petri<a href="#cite_note-151">[146]</a></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> In August 2024, following the judicial ruling that Kennedy is a resident of <a href="/wiki/California" class="mw-redirect" title="California">California</a> and thus he is not <a href="/wiki/Twelfth_Amendment" class="mw-redirect" title="Twelfth Amendment">constitutionally</a> allowed to run for the presidency with a vice president from the same state (Nicole Shanahan of California),<a href="#cite_note-152">[147]</a> the duo withdew from the race, and RFK Jr. endorsed Trump for president.<a href="#cite_note-apsuspended-15">[15]</a> His decision to endorse Trump came after an alleged attempt to arrange a meeting to negotiate with Democratic candidate <a href="/wiki/Kamala_Harris" title="Kamala Harris">Kamala Harris</a>, an attempt which was apparently (and justifiably) snubbed.<a href="#cite_note-153">[148]</a> The announcement also followed Shanahan's public grousing that she had to pay $19 million of her own money to get them on the ballot of 50 (or 49 states).<a href="#cite_note-154">[149]</a><a href="#cite_note-155">[150]</a> His announcement of the endorsement included a litany of complaints against the Democratic Party, including but not limited to, "abandoning democracy," not taking him seriously, conspiring against his campaign, victimizing him with "legal warfare," and nominating Harris without holding a primary.<a href="#cite_note-trumpnegotiate-156">[151]</a> The real reason behind his endorsement was that Trump's campaign had noticed that Kennedy was primarily taking votes from Trump and was therefore willing to reach out to him and negotiate for his leaving the race and endorsing Trump.<a href="#cite_note-trumpnegotiate-156">[151]</a> Kennedy had previously lambasted Trump and his followers in 2016 on his "Ring of Fire" radio show, calling Trump's followers "belligerent idiots", suggesting some were "outright Nazis" and "spineless <a href="/wiki/Fellow_traveler" class="mw-redirect" title="Fellow traveler">fellow travelers</a>". Following Trump's victory in the 2016 election, Kennedy <a href="/wiki/Nazi_analogies" title="Nazi analogies">compared him to Hitler</a> except that "Hitler was interested in policy."<a href="#cite_note-157">[152]</a> So who's the spineless fellow traveler, now? <h3>Campaigning for Trump[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Campaigning for Trump">edit</a>]</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(53953047624).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg/300px-Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg/450px-Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg/600px-Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._%2853953047624%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="6720" data-file-height="4480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_%26_Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(53953047624).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Kennedy speaks next to a very bored-looking Trump.</div></div></div> Pollster <a href="/wiki/Nate_Silver" title="Nate Silver">Nate Silver</a> noted that Kennedy's endorsement coincided with a slight dip in Harris' polling and a boost for Trump.<a href="#cite_note-158">[153]</a> After teaming up with Trump, Kennedy frantically went about removing his name from the ballot in swing states to avoid cutting into Trump's vote share. His efforts were successful in <a href="/wiki/Georgia" title="Georgia">Georgia</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Carolina" class="mw-redirect" title="North Carolina">North Carolina</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arizona" class="mw-redirect" title="Arizona">Arizona</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nevada" class="mw-redirect" title="Nevada">Nevada</a>.<a href="#cite_note-159">[154]</a> His efforts notably failed in <a href="/wiki/Wisconsin" class="mw-redirect" title="Wisconsin">Wisconsin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Michigan" class="mw-redirect" title="Michigan">Michigan</a>, where he got into a legal slap-fight with both states due to their deadlines for ballot withdrawals having already passed.<a href="#cite_note-160">[155]</a> Kennedy also became a frequent campaigner for Donald Trump, appearing as an opening act in many of Trump's events alongside fellow idiot <a href="/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard" title="Tulsi Gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard</a>.<a href="#cite_note-kenngabb-161">[156]</a> On 4 September, Kennedy attacked Harris as being unworthy of the presidency, saying, "I think we need to have a president who can give an interview, who can articulate a vision, who can put together an English sentence, who can articulate her and defend her policies and her record and who can engage in a debate with, and regular debates unscripted appearances, president or vice president."<a href="#cite_note-162">[157]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">irony</a> appeared lost on Kennedy that he said this while backing a gaffe-machine with serious memory problems.<a href="#cite_note-163">[158]</a> Whatever his many shortcomings, Kennedy proved effective at reaching the large cohort of voters who were expressing deep distrust towards the news media and government institutions.<a href="#cite_note-164">[159]</a> His strange beliefs and his alienation from his family contributed to Kennedy's image of being an outsider who threatened the establishment.<a href="#cite_note-kenngabb-161">[156]</a> Trump also adopted Kennedy's slogan "Make America Healthy Again."<a href="#cite_note-kenngabb-161">[156]</a> <h3>Role in the second Trump administration[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Role in the second Trump administration">edit</a>]</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/2/2f/Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg/325px-Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="296" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/2/2f/Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg/488px-Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/2/2f/Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg/650px-Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1536" data-file-height="1398" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Team_Trump_with_the_president-elect%27s_favorite_food.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Kennedy eats McDonald's with Team Trump after the 2024 election.<a href="#cite_note-165">[160]</a> Left-to-right: <a href="/wiki/Elon_Musk" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a>,<a href="#cite_note-167">[note 6]</a> Trump Sr., <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump_Jr." title="Donald Trump Jr.">Trump Jr.</a><a href="#cite_note-169">[note 7]</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mike_Johnson" title="Mike Johnson">Mike Johnson</a>, RFK Jr.<a href="#cite_note-170">[note 8]</a></div></div></div> On 27 October, Trump promised that his second administration would let Kennedy "go wild" on health, food, and medicines.<a href="#cite_note-171">[163]</a> At the same time, Kennedy's health promises like reducing the amount of "ultraprocessed food" in the American diet ran counter to the actions the Trump administration had taken during Trump's first term.<a href="#cite_note-172">[164]</a> Shortly after his victory in the election, Donald Trump honored his agreement with Kennedy by announcing that he would nominate Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). For his part, Kennedy pledged to rid the department of "corruption" and improve "transparency."<a href="#cite_note-173">[165]</a> Placing an anti-vaxxer in charge of the HHS Department is essentially placing the inmates in charge of the asylum. Of course, electing Trump again is also placing the inmates in charge of the asylum, so this tracks. Although it is not legally possible for the Health Secretary to ban vaccines, Kennedy’s position could potentially allow him to withdraw vaccine recommendations, make changes in agencies that regulate vaccines, and restrict legal protections for vaccine manufacturers.<a href="#cite_note-174">[166]</a> By late November, Kennedy was also rumored to have teamed up with Melania Trump to encourage the president-elect to eat "fewer Big Macs and less KFC, and more lean protein, salad and veggies for energy and to improve his overall well-being."<a href="#cite_note-175">[167]</a> The president-elect seemed to have retaliated by having Kennedy participate in a photograph of Team Trump dining on McDonald's food.<a href="#cite_note-176">[168]</a> Trump is known for his longtime and genuine love for McDonald's,<a href="#cite_note-177">[169]</a> and two of his top aides (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey_Lewandowski" class="extiw" title="wp:Corey Lewandowski" rel="nofollow">Corey Lewandowski</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bossie" class="extiw" title="wp:David Bossie" rel="nofollow">David Bossie</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" />) have claimed that Trump's average meal from McDonald's consists of two Big-Macs, two Fillet-O-Fish sandwiches, and a chocolate milkshake.<a href="#cite_note-178">[170]</a> So <a href="/wiki/Stopped_clock" title="Stopped clock">Kennedy has a point on this one</a>, though he shows <a href="/wiki/Hypocrisy" title="Hypocrisy">hypocrisy</a> with lack of follow-up in the photo. In November 2024, the head of the <a href="/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration" title="Food and Drug Administration">Food and Drug Administration</a> (part of DHHS) during the first Trump administration, Scott Gottlieb, warned senators against confirming Kennedy, saying that his confirmation would increase the likelihood of <a href="/wiki/Measles" title="Measles">measles</a> outbreaks and lead to the deaths of children.<a href="#cite_note-179">[171]</a> <h2>But that's not all, folks![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: But that's not all, folks!">edit</a>]</h2> Kennedy is also <a href="/wiki/Water_fluoridation" title="Water fluoridation">against water fluoridation</a>.<a href="#cite_note-180">[172]</a> <h3>Chemicals are turning the frogs trans![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Chemicals are turning the frogs trans!">edit</a>]</h3> Echoing the infamous "<a href="/wiki/Gay" class="mw-redirect" title="Gay">gay</a> frogs" of <a href="/wiki/Alex_Jones" title="Alex Jones">Alex Jones</a>, in an interview with <a href="/wiki/Jordan_Peterson" title="Jordan Peterson">Jordan Peterson</a> in June 2023 (later repeated on a <a href="/wiki/Joe_Rogan" title="Joe Rogan">Joe Rogan</a> podcast that same month), Kennedy theorized that certain chemicals in the "soup of <a href="/wiki/Toxin" title="Toxin">toxic</a> <a href="/wiki/Chemical" title="Chemical">chemicals</a>" in the <a href="/wiki/Water" title="Water">water</a> supply could be turning kids gay or <a href="/wiki/Transgender" title="Transgender">transgender</a>. Kennedy based this conspiracy theory on the same 2002 study that Jones used, which claimed that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/atrazine" class="extiw" title="wp:atrazine" rel="nofollow">atrazine</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> caused frogs to develop <a href="/wiki/Intersex" title="Intersex">hermaphroditic</a> characteristics. Kennedy's conspiracy theory is obviously bogus; aside from the fact that <a href="/wiki/Human" title="Human">human</a> biology and frog biology are quite different, later experiments have been unable to <a href="/wiki/Replicate" class="mw-redirect" title="Replicate">replicate</a> the results of that 2002 study.<a href="#cite_note-181">[173]</a><a href="#cite_note-182">[174]</a> <h3>Antidepressants cause school shootings! (And Elon Musk is great!)[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Antidepressants cause school shootings! (And Elon Musk is great!)">edit</a>]</h3> Surprising no one, the <a href="/wiki/Gullible" class="mw-redirect" title="Gullible">gullible</a> <a href="/wiki/Elon_Musk" title="Elon Musk">Elon Musk</a> had a positive view of Kennedy when he was running for President, and the two have traded praise. During Kennedy's campaign launch, Musk hosted a two-hour conversation with the candidate on Twitter, where the candidate issued some interestingly wacky statements like, "Prior to the introduction of Prozac," school shootings weren't a problem.<a href="#cite_note-prozac-183">[175]</a> There is absolutely no scientifically established link between antidepressants and school shootings,<a href="#cite_note-184">[176]</a><a href="#cite_note-186">[note 9]</a> and the conspiracy theory is notably widely spread by the <a href="/wiki/Church_of_Scientology" title="Church of Scientology">Church of Scientology</a> (who take an <a href="/wiki/Anti-psychiatry" title="Anti-psychiatry">anti-psychiatry</a> stance).<a href="#cite_note-prozac-183">[175]</a> Rather than address the school shooting crisis with <a href="/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">common-sense</a> <a href="/wiki/Gun_control" title="Gun control">gun control</a>, Kennedy decided to take the Republican approach and endorse outfitting schools with metal detectors, bag screeners, and bans on sharp objects.<a href="#cite_note-prozac-183">[175]</a> Have fun sending your kids to class in a world like that. Kennedy also spent the interview lavishing praise on Musk, comparing him to the Patriots of the <a href="/wiki/American_Revolution" title="American Revolution">American Revolution</a> saying "What is it in your background that you think gave you such firm convictions where you'd be willing to take this huge, massive, unspeakable economic hit on behalf of a principle for a country in which you weren't even born?"<a href="#cite_note-prozac-183">[175]</a> How pathetic. Kennedy has also advocated moving people who are on antidepressants into "<a href="/wiki/Concentration_camp" title="Concentration camp">government wellness farms</a>."<a href="#cite_note-187">[178]</a> <h3>Drink raw milk![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Drink raw milk!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Raw_milk" class="mw-redirect" title="Raw milk">Raw milk</a></div> Kennedy is an advocate of raw milk even though (or because?) it is unsafe to consume, often containing infectious <a href="/wiki/Viruses" class="mw-redirect" title="Viruses">viruses</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bacteria" title="Bacteria">bacteria</a> such as Salmonella, E. coli and listeria.<a href="#cite_note-weber2-188">[179]</a> He claims to personally drink raw milk, and he's attacked the FDA for its "aggressive suppression" of raw milk.<a href="#cite_note-189">[180]</a> <h3>Stem cell therapy![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Stem cell therapy!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Stem_cell_research" title="Stem cell research">Stem cell research</a></div> Kennedy has advocated for stem cell therapy, which is not a problem in and of itself: some such therapies are effective treatments. It is doubtful given all of Kennedy's other crankery that he would be able to distinguish the difference. Some stem cell therapies have blinded patients. Paul Knoepfler, a professor of cell biology and human anatomy at the University of California at Davis and expert on the subject, has expressed concern about Kennedy's advocacy because there are many dubious stem cell therapies that are promoted on the web.<a href="#cite_note-weber2-188">[179]</a> <h3>Chemtrails![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Chemtrails!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Chemtrails" title="Chemtrails">Chemtrails</a></div> In 2024, just after endorsing <a href="/wiki/Rapist" class="mw-redirect" title="Rapist">rapist</a>/felon Trump's campaign for president, he endorsed some random chemtrail nut on Twitter, writing, "We are going to stop this crime."<a href="#cite_note-190">[181]</a> <h3>The government is out to get us![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: The government is out to get us!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Paranoia" title="Paranoia">Paranoia</a></div> In 2024, Kennedy told <a href="/wiki/Fox_News" title="Fox News">Fox News</a>:<a href="#cite_note-weber2-188">[179]</a> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”The agency, the <a href="/wiki/USDA" class="mw-redirect" title="USDA">USDA</a>, the FDA have been captured by the industries they’re supposed to regulate, and they all have an interest in subsidies and mass poisoning the American public.</div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, responded:<a href="#cite_note-weber2-188">[179]</a> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;">“”That's just an <a href="/wiki/Inflammatory_language" title="Inflammatory language">inflammatory statement</a> that has no basis in reality. I've worked with the scientists at the [health] agencies, at CDC and FDA, at the National Institutes of Health, and they are the most dedicated civil servants the nation has ever seen.</div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <h3>The 2004 election was stolen![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: The 2004 election was stolen!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/2004_U.S._presidential_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2004 U.S. presidential election">2004 U.S. presidential election</a></div> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege2004.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/ElectoralCollege2004.svg/250px-ElectoralCollege2004.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="145" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/ElectoralCollege2004.svg/375px-ElectoralCollege2004.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/ElectoralCollege2004.svg/500px-ElectoralCollege2004.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1020" data-file-height="593" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege2004.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Yeah, we wish Kerry had won Ohio, too. But he didn't.</div></div></div> Foreshadowing later, <a href="/wiki/J6" class="mw-redirect" title="J6">more dangerous</a> claims by President Donald Trump, Kennedy spent years chasing his theory that <a href="/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> rigged the 2004 election against Democratic candidate John Kerry. His conspiracy theory centered on <a href="/wiki/Ohio" class="mw-redirect" title="Ohio">Ohio</a>, claiming that Republican state officials acted on orders from the White House to intentionally purge registered Democrats from the voter registration system, preventing them from casting ballots for Kerry.<a href="#cite_note-bushker-191">[182]</a> While there were a large number of voters, 129,543 to be exact, who encountered this problem at their polling places, audits and Democratic Party investigations found that the impacted voters were roughly evenly split between the two parties.<a href="#cite_note-bushker-191">[182]</a> Also, Kerry actually won more votes than <a href="/wiki/Al_Gore" title="Al Gore">Al Gore</a> in many areas, including 88,500 more votes from Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is.<a href="#cite_note-cleve-192">[183]</a> Most damningly for the theory, Ohio elections are run at the county level by boards that are careful to have bipartisan makeup, so the various fuckups on Election Day were not a grand Republican conspiracy.<a href="#cite_note-cleve-192">[183]</a> Ohio pretty much did exactly what polls predicted: vote for Bush by a fairly narrow margin. Thus, there is no evidence to indicate that Kerry won Ohio either way. But a good conspiracy theorist never lets a debunking keep him down. <h3>The CIA killed JFK![<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: The CIA killed JFK!">edit</a>]</h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination_conspiracy_theories" title="John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories">John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories</a></div> Never one to miss a chance to further piss off his own family members, Kennedy has repeatedly claimed that the <a href="/wiki/CIA" title="CIA">CIA</a> orchestrated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His theory, piggybacking on a broader cultural belief, claims that the CIA killed the president because he was refusing to embroil the United States in the growing crisis in <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a>, <a href="/wiki/Laos" title="Laos">Laos</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Cambodia" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a>.<a href="#cite_note-jfkill-193">[184]</a> The CIA apparently wanted a war in Southeast Asia in order to fuel the <a href="/wiki/Military-industrial_complex" title="Military-industrial complex">military-industrial complex</a>. Apparently, Kennedy ignores the fact that his uncle already was <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War">embroiling the United States in Vietnam</a> at the time he was assassinated. As recently as 2023, RFK Jr. claimed the evidence is "overwhelming" that the CIA was responsible.<a href="#cite_note-jfkill-193">[184]</a> Kennedy told <a href="/wiki/Joe_Rogan" title="Joe Rogan">Joe Rogan</a> he "takes precautions" on the off chance that the CIA decides to gun for him.<a href="#cite_note-194">[185]</a> <h2>His voice[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: His voice">edit</a>]</h2> He began suffering from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spasmodic_dysphonia" class="extiw" title="wp:spasmodic dysphonia" rel="nofollow">spasmodic dysphonia</a>,<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> a rare voice disorder, in 2001. This causes his voice to sound strained.<a href="#cite_note-195">[186]</a><a href="#cite_note-196">[187]</a> <h2>External links[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ringoffireradio.com/">Ring of Fire program website</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/tag/robert-f-kennedy-jr/">Articles tagged "Robert F Kennedy Jr." at Science-Based Medicine.</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_TLlwq-gqQ">RFK, Jr. peddling his conspiracies at a Green Our Vaccines rally</a></li> <li>Skeptico on <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/06/robert_f_kenned.html">Deadly Immunity article</a> and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/salon-retracts-2005-robert-f-kennedy-jr-piece-on-alleged-autism-vaccine-link/">Retraction Watch's coverage.</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110306145740/https://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/11/say_it_aint_so_barack_say_you_aint_serio.php">Orac on RFK, Jr.</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cc.com/video/uwf623/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-robert-f-kennedy-jr">A Daily Show interview that unfortunately questioned his vaccine hysteria not.</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.salon.com/2006/06/03/kennedy_39/#.Wb3NOsnM0yM">Farhad Manjoo debunks Kennedy's claims of 2004 election rigging.</a></li></ul> <h2>Notes[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-20"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a> This may be a transcription error, or a misstatement, as development for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/malaria_vaccine" class="extiw" title="wp:malaria vaccine" rel="nofollow">malaria vaccine</a><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> was only just getting started in the 1960s. It possibly refers to vaccination against <a href="/wiki/Measles" title="Measles">measles</a> instead. </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><a href="#cite_ref-45">↑</a> 103°F = 39.4°C in adults is considered the danger level. </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><a href="#cite_ref-72">↑</a> Walking barefoot on wet floors in public areas (locker rooms, pools, and presumably toilets) is actually a risk factor for getting plantar warts (a virus).<a href="#cite_note-71">[69]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-116"><a href="#cite_ref-116">↑</a> The quote in the newsletter ("He alone, who OWNS the yourth, GAINS the future.") was not accidental, it explicitly acknowledged Hitler.<a href="#cite_note-indystar-115">[112]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-145"><a href="#cite_ref-145">↑</a> The alleged sexual assault occurred in 1999, when Kennedy was 45 years old. That's not exactly "youth". </li> <li id="cite_note-167"><a href="#cite_ref-167">↑</a> "Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in"<a href="#cite_note-166">[161]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-169"><a href="#cite_ref-169">↑</a> So what's the ETA on that real <a href="/wiki/Cocaine" title="Cocaine">coke</a>, Elon?<a href="#cite_note-168">[162]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-170"><a href="#cite_ref-170">↑</a> Does this come with worms? </li> <li id="cite_note-186"><a href="#cite_ref-186">↑</a> If anything, they are one method that school shooting survivors use to treat ensuing depression.<a href="#cite_note-185">[177]</a> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2>References[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-otherkenn-1">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-otherkenn_1-0">1.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-otherkenn_1-1">1.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-otherkenn_1-2">1.2</a> Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Maeve Kennedy McKean. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/08/robert-kennedy-jr-measles-vaccines-226798/">RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He’s Tragically Wrong About Vaccines.</a>. Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com//2023/06/05/tech/elon-musk-robert-f-kennedy-jr-twitter-spaces/index.html">With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interview, Musk again uses Twitter to promote candidates aligned with his views</a> by Brian Fung (5 June 2023) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240808050751/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc3tZnVHZ5Y">Democrats Declare RFK Jr. The Enemy</a> (Jul 21, 2023) The Ben Shapiro Show Ep. 1771, YouTube (archived from August 8, 2024). </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5294591/rfk-jr-trump-health-human-services-hhs-vaccines">RFK Jr. confirmed as Trump's health secretary, over Democrats' loud objections</a>, Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR 13 February 2025 </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56536390">Covid vaccine: Social media urged to remove 'disinfo dozen'</a> (March 26, 2021) BBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/rfk-jr-and-his-im-not-anti-vaccine-rejoinder-to-being-confronted-with-his-past-antivax-statements-a-primer/">RFK Jr. and his 'I’m not anti-vaccine' rejoinder to being confronted with his past antivax statements: A primer</a> by David Gorski (December 18, 2023) Science-Based Medicine. </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.factcheck.org/2023/11/scicheck-rfk-jr-incorrectly-denies-past-remarks-on-vaccine-safety-and-effectiveness/">RFK Jr. Incorrectly Denies Past Remarks on Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness</a> by Jessica McDonald (November 8, 2023) FactCheck.org. </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Peanut_Allergy_Epidemic_Third_Editio/IGeCDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">The Peanut Allergy Epidemic</a> by Heather Fraser, forward by Robert Kennedy Jr. (2017) Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1510726322" title="Special:BookSources/1510726322">1510726322</a>. </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://youtu.be/2TDeTI5kAb8">Joe Rogan STUNNED By WiFi Cancer Claims From RFK Jr.</a> from The Joe Rogan Experience] (Jun 20, 2023) The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Excerpt from Joe Rogan Experience via YouTube. </li> <li id="cite_note-vfairexpose-10">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-vfairexpose_10-0">10.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-vfairexpose_10-1">10.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-vfairexpose_10-2">10.2</a> <a href="#cite_ref-vfairexpose_10-3">10.3</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.ph/ZrKbX">RFK Jr.’s Family Doesn’t Want Him to Run. Even They May Not Know His Darkest Secrets.</a> by Joe Hagan (2024 July 2) Vanity Fair. </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a> [<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/09/robert-f-kennedy-jr-independent-run-2024-us-election">Robert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for 2024 US election</a> by Richard Luscombe & Adam Gabbatt (2023 October 9) The Guardian. </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/10/06/2023/team-trump-readies-attacks-on-rfk-jr-as-spoiler-anxiety-grows">Team Trump readies attacks on RFK Jr. as spoiler anxiety grows</a> by Shelby Talcott (2023 October 6) Semafor. </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/a-reclusive-heir-is-giving-millions-to-help-trump-and-rfk-jr-2adf40b5?">A Reclusive Heir Is Giving Millions to Help Trump and RFK Jr.: Tim Mellon has handed out more than $150 million to causes and candidates in recent election cycles</a> by Tarini Parti (March 16, 2024 5:30 am ET) The Wall Street Journal. </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://i-know-how-much-you-care.ghost.io/bobbys-brain-worms-story-is-just-more-evidence-hes-a-terrible-terrible-person/">Bobby's brain worms story is just more evidence he’s a terrible, terrible person</a> by Jason Sattler (May 11, 2024) I Know How Much You Care. </li> <li id="cite_note-apsuspended-15">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-apsuspended_15-0">15.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-apsuspended_15-1">15.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-trump-speech-arizona-a2638f89ddcb5de03edbe4574ca17d45">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’s suspending his presidential bid and backing Donald Trump</a> by Jonathan J. Cooper et al. (2024 August 230 AP News. </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4956319-trump-says-hell-let-rfk-jr-go-wild-on-health-and-food-in-potential-second-term/">Trump says he’ll let RFK Jr. ‘go wild’ on health and food in potential second term</a> by Brett Samuels (10/27/24 8:30 PM ET) The Hill. </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/01/ted-kennedy-jr-robert-kennedy-rfk-trump-public-health-alarm/">Ted Kennedy Jr. expresses concern about Trump’s ‘flagrant disregard’ for public health</a> by Sarah Owermohle (November 1, 2024) STAT News. </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rfk-hhs-health-kennedy-f40ee2398e3a280c1586eecdd80bdf7c">Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary</a> by Jill Colvein & Amanda Seitz (2024 November 14) Associated Press. </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5294591/rfk-jr-trump-health-human-services-hhs-vaccines">RFK Jr. confirmed as Trump's health secretary, over Democrats' loud objections</a> by Selena Simmons-Duffin (February 13, 2025 11:33 AM ET) NPR. </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a> (July 21, 1966). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rfkhumanrights.org/quote/senate-speech-8/">Senate Speech</a>. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-f-kennedy-vaccines-trump-rfkjr-7f8dcb25de76a5a70710d22bbc63f6fa">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long record of promoting anti-vaccine views</a> by Michelle R. Smith (November 14, 2024) The Associated Press. </li> <li id="cite_note-SafeEffectiveCheck-23">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-SafeEffectiveCheck_23-0">22.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-SafeEffectiveCheck_23-1">22.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.factcheck.org/2023/11/scicheck-rfk-jr-incorrectly-denies-past-remarks-on-vaccine-safety-and-effectiveness/">RFK Jr. Incorrectly Denies Past Remarks on Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness</a> by Jessica McDonald (November 8, 2023) FactCheck.org (The Annenberg Public Policy Center).<blockquote class="letter" style="width:auto; background:#f8f8ff; border:1px solid #C9C9CF;"> As we’ve explained before, a portion — but not all — of the approximately 100 million Americans vaccinated between 1955 and 1963 for polio received vaccines that were contaminated with SV40. But the virus, which causes cancer in rodents, has not been shown to cause cancer in humans. And there isn’t evidence that people who were vaccinated developed cancer at a higher rate than those who were not. </blockquote> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a> (April 12, 1961). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-press-conferences/news-conference-9">"News Conference 9"</a>. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/08/18/azt-found-to-delay-onset-of-aids/c33fa1e8-d7b6-465d-a055-970e8405f789/">"AZT Found to Delay Onset of AIDS</a> by Michael Specter (August 18, 1989) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/robert-f-kennedy-jr-2024-presidential-campaign-democratic-primary.html">RFK Jr.'s Inside Job</a> by Rebecca Traister (June 30, 2023) Intelligencer (New York). </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/19/robert-kennedy-2024-campaign-00092842">The Kennedy campaign the Kennedys don’t want to see</a> by Lisa Kashinsky (04/19/2023 04:37 PM EDT) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/politics/robert-f-kennedy-family-biden-2024/index.html">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can’t count on family support to take on Biden</a> by Edward-Isaac Dovere (6:17 AM EDT, Sun April 16, 2023) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/robert-f-kennedy-jr-president-campaign-family.html">The Kennedys Really Hate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Maybe they're on to something.</a> by Heather Schwedel (June 11, 2023) Slate. </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jfk-grandson-rfk-jr-embarrassment-b2379705.html">JFK’s grandson calls RFK Jr an embarrassment to the family name</a> by Kelly Rissman (21 July 2023 17:23 BST) The Independent. </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a> Siladitya Ray (November 18, 2024). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/11/18/caroline-kennedy-calls-cousin-rfk-jrs-vaccine-stance-dangerous-in-farewell-speech-as-ambassador-to-australia/">Caroline Kennedy Calls Cousin RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Stance ‘Dangerous,’ In Farewell Speech As Ambassador To Australia</a> by Siladitya Ray (Nov 18, 2024,06:13am EST) Forbes. </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><a href="#cite_ref-32">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/18/us/robert-kennedy-jr-admits-he-is-guilty-in-possessing-heroin.html">Robert Kennedy Jr. Admits He Is Guilty In Possessing Heroin</a> (Feb. 18, 1984) AP via The New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/289/16/483656/">United States, Appellee, v. Rafael Ayala Ayala, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dennis Hickey Rivera, and Armando Torres Ortíz, Defendants, Appellants, 289 F.3d 16 (1st Cir. 2002)</a> (Heard March 4, 2002; Decided April 29, 2002) Justia. </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://unherd.com/2023/05/robert-kennedy-jr-america-needs-a-revolution/">Freddie Sayers</a> by Freddie Sayers (May 3, 2023) UnHerd. </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><a href="#cite_ref-35">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nypost.com/2013/09/08/rfk-jr-s-sex-diary-of-adultery/">RFK’s sex diary: His secret journal of affairs</a> by Isabel Vincent & Melissa Klein (Published Sep. 8, 2013; Updated June 20, 2023, 7:33 a.m. ET) New York Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><a href="#cite_ref-36">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/174667/rfk-jr-compulsive-womanizer">RFK Jr. Was a Compulsive Womanizer, and Yes, We Should Care: The presidential candidate might be the political outcast of his family, but he inherited his father’s and uncle’s disregard for women.</a> by Nina Burleigh (August 1, 2023) The New Republic. </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><a href="#cite_ref-37">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/bear-cub-found-dead-in-central-park-nypd-investigating-as-animal-cruelty/">Bear Cub Found Dead In Central Park; NYPD Investigating As Animal Cruelty</a> (6 October 2014) CBS New York. </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><a href="#cite_ref-38">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nypost.com/2024/08/05/us-news/rfk-jr-posed-with-dead-bear-cub-before-dumping-it-in-central-park/">Graphic pic shows RFK Jr. posing with dead bear cub before dumping it in Central Park</a> by Ronny Reyes (Aug. 5, 2024, 11:54 a.m. ET) 'New York Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><a href="#cite_ref-39">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/roseanne-tries-to-distance-herself-from-rfk-jrs-dead-bear-cub-confession">Roseanne Tries to Distance Herself From RFK Jr.’s Dead Bear Cub Confession</a> by Eboni Boykin-Patterson (Aug. 05, 2024) The Daily Beast. </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><a href="#cite_ref-40">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-admits-dead-bear-cub-old-bicycle-central-park-10-years-ago/">RFK Jr. admits putting dead bear cub in New York City's Central Park nearly 10 years ago</a> (5 August 2024) CBS News. </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><a href="#cite_ref-41">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2j3353vvdvo">RFK Jr admits dumping bear carcass in New York's Central Park</a> by Phil McCausland (July 5, 2024) BBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><a href="#cite_ref-42">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/new-york/2024/08/05/rfk-jr-dumped-bear-central-park-could-he-face-charges-nysdec/74678945007/">Can RFK Jr. be charged for dumping dead bear in Central Park? Here's what NYSDEC says</a> by Chris McKenna (5 August 2024) lohud. </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><a href="#cite_ref-43">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/08/05/nx-s1-5063939/rfk-jr-central-park-bear-bicycle">RFK Jr. admits to dumping a dead bear in Central Park, solving a decade-old mystery</a> by Rachel Treisman (August 5, 202410:16 AM ET) NPR. </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><a href="#cite_ref-44">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/02/robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-riverkeeper-egg-smuggler">How RFK Jr. hiring a bird smuggler threw his environmental group into turmoil</a> by Peter Jamison (March 2, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><a href="#cite_ref-46">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/robert-kennedy-jr-compares-vaccine-debate-holocaust-california-lawmakers-banning-exemptions/">Robert Kennedy Jr. Compares Vaccine Debate To Holocaust As California Lawmakers Look At Banning Exemptions</a> (April 8, 2015 / 12:00 AM PDT) CBS News. </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><a href="#cite_ref-47">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trofire.com/2017/01/11/rof-responds-corporate-medias-anti-vaxxer-attack-rfk-jr/">ROF Responds to the Corporate Media’s Anti-Vaxxer Attack on RFK, Jr.</a> by Gary Bentley (January 11, 2017) The Ring of Fire Network. </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><a href="#cite_ref-48">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180404152506/https://trofire.com/our-show/">About Us</a> The Ring of Fire Network (archived on 2018 April 4). </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><a href="#cite_ref-49">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181031115135/https://trofire.com/our-show/">About Us</a> The Ring of Fire Network (archived on 2018 October 31). </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><a href="#cite_ref-50">↑</a> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r2708880">/* Errors processing stylesheet [[:Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css]] (rev 2708880): • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 44 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 50 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 55 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 64 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 96 character 9. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 100 character 9. • Invalid media query at line 138 character 8. */ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://retractionwatch.com/2011/01/16/salon-retracts-2005-robert-f-kennedy-jr-piece-on-alleged-autism-vaccine-link/">"Salon retracts 2005 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. piece on alleged autism-vaccine link"</a>. Retraction Watch. January 16, 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110718110151/http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/salon-retracts-2005-robert-f-kennedy-jr-piece-on-alleged-autism-vaccine-link/">Archived</a> from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2025.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Retraction+Watch&rft.atitle=Salon+retracts+2005+Robert+F.+Kennedy+Jr.+piece+on+alleged+autism-vaccine+link&rft.date=2011-01-16&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fretractionwatch.com%2F2011%2F01%2F16%2Fsalon-retracts-2005-robert-f-kennedy-jr-piece-on-alleged-autism-vaccine-link%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><a href="#cite_ref-51">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/21/trump-vaccination-safety-commission-robert-kennedy-autism">Trump appears to abandon vaccine sceptic group denounced by scientists: Robert F Kennedy Jr claimed to be leading a review of links to autism – a widely debunked claim – but now says he hasn’t heard from the White House in months</a> by David Smith (21 Feb 2018 07.15 EST) The Guardian. </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><a href="#cite_ref-52">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scicheck-what-rfk-jr-gets-wrong-about-autism/">What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Autism</a> by Kate Yandell (August 10, 2023) FactCheck.org. </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><a href="#cite_ref-53">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/robert-f-kennedy-jr-family-anti-vaxx-measles-outbreak-a8905526.html">Robert F Kennedy Jr's family slam his anti-vaccine views in wake of measles outbreak: 'He is spreading dangerous misinformation'</a> Stevenson, C. (May 8, 2019) The Independent. </li> <li id="cite_note-elex-54"><a href="#cite_ref-elex_54-0">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060614224028/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen">Was the 2004 Election Stolen?</a> by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (15 June 2006) Rolling Stone no. 1002, pp. 46-114 (archived from June 14, 2006). </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><a href="#cite_ref-55">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-dozen-test-facebooks-twitters-ability-to-curb-vaccine-hoaxes">Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows</a> by Shannon Bond (14 May 2021) NPR. </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><a href="#cite_ref-56">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/11/15/majority-anti-vaccine-ads-facebook-were-funded-by-two-groups/">Majority of anti-vaccine ads on Facebook were funded by two groups</a> by Lena H. Sun (2019 November 15) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><a href="#cite_ref-57">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/anti-vaccine-group-sues-facebook-claims-fact-checking-is-censorship/">Anti-vaccine group sues Facebook, claims fact-checking is "censorship"</a> by Kate Cox (2020 August 18) Ars Technica. </li> <li id="cite_note-weber-58">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-weber_58-0">56.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-weber_58-1">56.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/21/covid-misinformation-earnings">Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation</a> by Lauren Weber (February 21, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><a href="#cite_ref-59">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/zehntausende-demonstrieren-in-berlin-gegen-die-corona-massnahmen-5374549.html">Bibelsprüche, Trommeltanz und Faschisten: Zehntausende demonstrieren in Berlin gegen die Corona-Maßnahmen: Impfgegner und Neonazis, Trump-Fans und Hare-Krishna-Tänzer – gegen die Corona-Politik demonstrieren Menschen, die sonst wenig miteinander verbindet</a> by Hannes Heine (29.08.2020, 19:23 Uhr) Tagesspiegel. </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><a href="#cite_ref-60">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/8/29/1973395/-Anti-Vaxxer-RFK-JR-joins-neo-Nazis-in-massive-Berlin-Anti-Corona-Protest">Anti-Vaxxer RFK JR. joins neo-Nazis in massive Berlin 'Anti-Corona' Protest</a> by DowneastDem (August 29, 2020 at 3:06:44p PDT) Daily Kos. </li> <li id="cite_note-bredderman-61">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-bredderman_61-0">59.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-bredderman_61-1">59.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-allegedly-tried-to-bully-dailykos-blogger-david-vickrey-after-appearing-at-far-right-rally-in-germany">How ‘Free Speech’ Warrior RFK Tried to Bully a DailyKos Blogger: Robert Kennedy Jr. hired Kyle Rittenhouse’s lawyer to threaten a lawsuit against an anonymous writer who documented the anti-vaxxer’s appearance at a far-right German rally.</a> by William Bredderman (Updated Sep. 08, 2023 2:23AM EDT; Published Sep. 07, 2023 8:03PM EDT) The Daily Beast. </li> <li id="cite_note-rfk-62">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-rfk_62-0">60.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-rfk_62-1">60.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230519083925/https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/lsamoa-medical-freedom-hero-court-case-dismissed/">Leading Samoa Medical Freedom Hero Goes Free After Court Case Dismissed</a> by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (02/18/21) Children's Health Defense. </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><a href="#cite_ref-63">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/press-releases/vaccination-vital-protect-pacific-communities-against-measles">Vaccination vital to protect Pacific communities against measles</a> (06 November 2019) UNICEF. </li> <li id="cite_note-westfall-64">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-westfall_64-0">62.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-westfall_64-1">62.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/15/rfk-jr-global-health-samoa-kennedy/">Global health experts sound alarm over RFK Jr., citing Samoa outbreak: Experts and officials said a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa, which came after a visit by Kennedy, exemplified the dangers of his rhetoric.</a> by Sammy Westfall & Lena H. Sun (November 15, 2024 at 6:58 p.m. EST) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><a href="#cite_ref-65">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-jr-comes-home-anti-vaccine-group-commits-break-us-infectious-disea-rcna123551">RFK Jr. comes 'home' to his anti-vaccine group, commits to 'a break' for U.S. infectious disease research</a> by Brandy Zadrozny (November 3, 2023) NBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><a href="#cite_ref-66">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/robert-f-kennedy-jr-comes-home-to-his-antivax-roots-again/">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes home to his antivax roots…again</a> by David Gorski (November 6, 2023) Science-Based Medicine. </li> <li id="cite_note-ThreatToHealth-67">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-ThreatToHealth_67-0">65.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-ThreatToHealth_67-1">65.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-kennedy-anti-vaccine-panel-conspiracies-hiv-spanish-flu-1234779689/">RFK Jr. Claims 'Vaccine Research' Likely Responsible for HIV and the Spanish Flu</a> by Nikki McCann Ramirez & Miles Klee (June 27, 2023) Rolling Stone. </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><a href="#cite_ref-68">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infectious-disease.htm">Infectious Disease</a> Centers for Disease Control. </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><a href="#cite_ref-69">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death">The top 10 causes of death</a> (December 9, 2020) World Health Organization. Quote: "People living in a low-income country are far more likely to die of a communicable disease than a noncommunicable disease. Despite the global decline, six of the top 10 causes of death in low-income countries are communicable diseases." </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><a href="#cite_ref-70">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/11/14/robert-f-kennedy-jr-responds-barefoot-plane-photo-more-bare-feet-airport-terminal/">RFK Jr. Responds to Barefoot Plane Photo Debate, Doubles Down on Baring Toes</a> (11/14/2023 11:34 AM PT) TMZ. </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><a href="#cite_ref-71">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-warts/symptoms-causes/syc-20352691">Plantar warts</a> Mayo Clinic. </li> <li id="cite_note-chait-73">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-chait_73-0">70.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-chait_73-1">70.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/07/rfk-jrs-conspiracy-theories-finally-get-around-to-the-jews.html">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Conspiracy Theories Finally Get Around to the Jews: COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted”? Uh, sure.</a> by Johnathan Chait (July 15, 2023) New York Intelligencer. </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><a href="#cite_ref-74">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/08/15/debunked-bill-gates-conspiracy-gets-a-boost-from-rfk-jr-marla-maples/">Debunked Bill Gates Conspiracy Gets A Boost From RFK Jr., Marla Maples</a> by Carlie Porterfield (2020 August 15) Forbes. </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><a href="#cite_ref-75">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/how-robert-f-kennedy-jr-became-anti-vaxxer-icon-nightmare">How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Became the Anti-vaxxer Icon of America’s Nightmares</a> by Keziah Weir (May 13, 2021) Vanity Fair. </li> <li id="cite_note-76"><a href="#cite_ref-76">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/08/15/debunked-bill-gates-conspiracy-gets-a-boost-from-rfk-jr-marla-maples/">Debunked Bill Gates Conspiracy Gets A Boost From RFK Jr., Marla Maples</a> by Carlie Porterfield (2020 August 15) Forbes. </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><a href="#cite_ref-77">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/technology/youtube-anti-vaxx-ban.html">YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation</a> by Davey Alba (September 29 2021) New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><a href="#cite_ref-78">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/correction-kennedy-anne-frank-story-82468606">RFK Jr. remarks on Anne Frank, vaccines draw condemnation</a> by Michelle R. Smith (2022 January 25) Associated Press. </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><a href="#cite_ref-79">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-apologizes-for-referencing-anne-frank-in-wild-anti-vax-speech/">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Apologizes for Referencing Anne Frank in Wild Anti-Vax Speech</a> by Ken Meyer (2022 January 25) Mediaite. </li> <li id="cite_note-real-80">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-real_80-0">77.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-real_80-1">77.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/robert-f.-kennedy-the-real-anthony-fauci-bill-gates-big-pharma-2021/mode/2up">The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health (Children’s Health Defense)</a> by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (2021) Skyhorse Publishing/Children's Health Defense. </li> <li id="cite_note-spininterview-81">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-spininterview_81-0">78.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-spininterview_81-1">78.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-spininterview_81-2">78.2</a> <a href="#cite_ref-spininterview_81-3">78.3</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.spin.com/2022/01/robert-f-kennedy-jr-interview-2022/">The Outsider</a> by Bob Guccione Jr (January 17, 2022 - 2:32 pm) SPIN. </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><a href="#cite_ref-82">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/claims-that-people-were-being-killed-by-zidovudine-azt-instead-of-aids-are-unsubstantiated/">Claims that people were being killed by zidovudine (AZT) instead of AIDS are unsubstantiated</a> by Fernanda Ferreira (06 Sep 2021) Health Feedback. </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><a href="#cite_ref-83">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2666972/">Aerosolized pentamidine in HIV. Promising new treatment for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.</a> by G. M. Sarti (1989) Postgrad Med. 86(2):54-6, 59-60, 63, passim. doi:10.1080/00325481.1989.11704352. </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><a href="#cite_ref-84">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/guide/aids-hiv-opportunistic-infections-pneumocystis-pcp-pneumonia">Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP)</a> (reviewed on 2021 December 4) WebMD. </li> <li id="cite_note-85"><a href="#cite_ref-85">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://qz.com/africa/2079064/only-one-in-seven-cases-of-covid-19-in-africa-is-reported/">Why you’re not hearing about Covid-19 outbreaks in Africa</a> by Annalisa Merelli (2021 October 26) QZ. </li> <li id="cite_note-86"><a href="#cite_ref-86">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/world/asia/japan-coronavirus-masks.html">Is the Secret to Japan’s Virus Success Right in Front of Its Face?</a> by Motoko Rich (2020 June 6) New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-87"><a href="#cite_ref-87">↑</a> See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country" class="extiw" title="wp:COVID-19 pandemic death rates by country" rel="nofollow">COVID-19 pandemic death rates by country</a>. </li> <li id="cite_note-88"><a href="#cite_ref-88">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8050401/">Ivermectin against COVID-19: The unprecedented consequences in Latin America.</a> by Marcelo Beltrão Molento (2021) One Health 13:100250. doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100250. </li> <li id="cite_note-89"><a href="#cite_ref-89">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fauci-gain-function-covid/">Did Fauci Fund ‘Gain of Function’ Research, Thereby Causing COVID-19 Pandemic?</a> by Madison Dapcevich (2021 May 20) Snopes. </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><a href="#cite_ref-90">↑</a> The Wuhan Cover-Up and the Terrifying Bioweapons Arms Race by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (2023) Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781510773998. </li> <li id="cite_note-91"><a href="#cite_ref-91">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8490156/">Frutos R, Javelle E, Barberot C, Gavotte L, Tissot-Dupont H, Devaux CA. Origin of COVID-19: Dismissing the Mojiang mine theory and the laboratory accident narrative</a> Environmental Research 2022;204(Pt B):112141. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.112141 </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><a href="#cite_ref-92">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220730031618/https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/i-have-covid/isolation/government-nominated-accommodation">Quarantine in government-nominated accommodation</a> Queensland Government (archived from July 30, 2022). </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><a href="#cite_ref-93">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/how-rfk-jr-built-anti-vaccine-juggernaut-amid-covid-4997be1bcf591fe8b7f1f90d16c9321e">How a Kennedy built an anti-vaccine juggernaut amid COVID-19</a> by Michelle R. Smith (8:03 AM PST, December 15, 2021) Associated Press. </li> <li id="cite_note-94"><a href="#cite_ref-94">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/BvMtZ">Robert F. Kennedy Jr</a> Epoch Times (archived from 20 Nov 2024 06:39:59 UTC). </li> <li id="cite_note-95"><a href="#cite_ref-95">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thewrap.com/dr-fauci-rfk-jr-shame-kennedys-disturbed-individual/">"Fauci Rips ‘Very Disturbed’ RFK Jr.’s Attacks on His Career: ‘It’s a Shame’ Because He’s a Kennedy"</a> by Jolie Lash (2021 December 22) The Wrap. </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><a href="#cite_ref-96">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jewish-groups-condemn-rfk-jr-claim-covid-ethnic-targeting-1234789172/">Watch: RFK Jr. Claims Covid ‘Ethnically Targeted’ — Says Jewish and Chinese People Most Immune</a> by Daniel Kreps (July 15, 2023) Rolling Stone. </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><a href="#cite_ref-97">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/17/robert-f-kennedy-jr-covid-condemned">"Family members join condemnation of Robert Kennedy Jr’s Covid remarks"</a> by Richard Luscombe (2023 July 17) The Guardian. </li> <li id="cite_note-98"><a href="#cite_ref-98">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-covid-19-ethnically-targeted-00106478">RFK Jr. denies comments on ‘ethnically targeted’ Covid-19 were anti-Semitic</a> by Lucy Hodgman (2023 July 15) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-99"><a href="#cite_ref-99">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230715161130/https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1680227322509635595">"The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews. In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered. That study is here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32664879/"</a> by @RobertKennedyJr (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) (2023 July 15) Twitter (archived on 2023 July 15). </li> <li id="cite_note-100"><a href="#cite_ref-100">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-020-01673-z">New insights into genetic susceptibility of COVID-19: an ACE2 and TMPRSS2 polymorphism analysis.</a> by Yuan Hou et al. (2020) BMC Med. 18(1):216. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-01673-z. </li> <li id="cite_note-101"><a href="#cite_ref-101">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/rfk-jr-a-fart-filled-argument-gives-way-to-an-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-that-covid-19-is-an-ethnically-targeted-bioweapon/">RFK Jr.: A fart-filled argument gives way to an antisemitic conspiracy theory that COVID-19 is an 'ethnically targeted' bioweapon</a> by David Gorski (July 17, 2023) Science-Based Medicine. </li> <li id="cite_note-102"><a href="#cite_ref-102">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34965776/">Disaggregating Asian Race Reveals COVID-19 Disparities Among Asian American Patients at New York City's Public Hospital System</a> by Roopa Kalyanaraman Marcello (2021) Public Health Reports 137(2):317-325. doi:10.1177/00333549211061313. </li> <li id="cite_note-103"><a href="#cite_ref-103">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/south-asian-chinese-new-yorkers-among-hardest-hit-covid-study-n1251457">South Asian, Chinese New Yorkers among the hardest hit by Covid, study shows</a> by Vignesh Ramachandran (December 17, 2020) NBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-104"><a href="#cite_ref-104">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/nyregion/coronavirus-jews-hasidic-ny.html">'Plague on a Biblical Scale': Hasidic Families Hit Hard by Virus"</a> by Liam Stack (April 21, 2020) The New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-105"><a href="#cite_ref-105">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-jr-presidential-campaign-9fb5ed5c8e1fd31d2a4458d44b086593">Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. challenging Biden in 2024</a> by Michelle L. Price (April 5, 2023) The Associated Press. </li> <li id="cite_note-106"><a href="#cite_ref-106">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65197673">Robert F Kennedy Jr to challenge Biden for White House</a> by Chloe Kim (2023 April 6) BBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-107"><a href="#cite_ref-107">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/politics/robert-f-kennedy-family-biden-2024/index.html">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can’t count on family support to take on Biden</a> by Edward-Isaac Dovere (2023 April 16) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-108"><a href="#cite_ref-108">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/15/rfk-jr-2024-campaign-trump-celebrity-conspiracy/">His name is Kennedy. His campaign is pure Trump.</a> by Matt Bai (May 15, 2023 at 7:15 a.m. EDT) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-msnbckenop-109">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-msnbckenop_109-0">106.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-msnbckenop_109-1">106.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-blames-zelensky-for-russian-invasion-of-ukraine">RFK Jr. Blames Zelensky and U.S. ‘NeoCons‘ for Russian Invasion of Ukraine</a> by Victor Swezey (2023 May 03) Daily Beast. </li> <li id="cite_note-110"><a href="#cite_ref-110">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/robert-kennedy-jr-president-jack-dorsey-rcna87761">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appeal will also be his ruin</a> by Zeeshan Aleem (2023 June 6) MSNBC. </li> <li id="cite_note-111"><a href="#cite_ref-111">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4063124-rfj-jr-says-russia-acting-in-good-faith-in-ukraine-invasion-us-in-part-to-blame-for-war/">RFK Jr. says Russia 'acting in good faith' in Ukraine invasion, US in part to blame for war</a> by Julia Shapero (June 22, 2023) The Hill. </li> <li id="cite_note-112"><a href="#cite_ref-112">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/robert-kennedy-jr-make-campaign-debut-bitcoin-conference-rcna83123">Robert Kennedy Jr. to make campaign debut at bitcoin conference"</a> by Alex Seitz-Wald (2023 May 6) NBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-113"><a href="#cite_ref-113">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty">Moms for Liberty</a> Southern Poverty Law Center. </li> <li id="cite_note-newsweekmom-114">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-newsweekmom_114-0">111.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-newsweekmom_114-1">111.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-newsweekmom_114-2">111.2</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newsweek.com/conservatives-embrace-robert-f-kennedy-jr-1808241">Conservatives Embrace Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a> by Nick Reynolds (2023 June 21) Newsweek. </li> <li id="cite_note-indystar-115">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-indystar_115-0">112.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-indystar_115-1">112.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2023/06/21/moms-for-liberty-hamilton-county-indiana-quotes-hitler-in-newsletter/70344659007/">Moms for Liberty's Hamilton County chapter apologizes for quoting Hitler in newsletter</a> (2023 June 21) Indianapolis Star. </li> <li id="cite_note-117"><a href="#cite_ref-117">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rawstory.com/moms-for-liberty-promotes-rjk-jr/">Far-right 'Moms for Liberty' promotes RFK Jr. as guest speaker at national event</a> by Gideon Rubin (2023 June 20) RawStory. </li> <li id="cite_note-118"><a href="#cite_ref-118">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/173831/hell-robert-f-kennedy-jr-speaking-moms-liberty-summit">RFK Jr. Gives Away the Game With Decision to Speak at Moms for Liberty Summit</a> by Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani (2023 June 21) New Republic. </li> <li id="cite_note-119"><a href="#cite_ref-119">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://slate.com/technology/2023/06/robert-f-kennedy-jr-joe-rogan-elon-musk-sacks-vaccines-ackman-palihapitiya.html">What the Powerful Men Boosting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Really Want</a> by Jacob Silverman (June 20, 2023) Slate. </li> <li id="cite_note-120"><a href="#cite_ref-120">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorsey-backs-anti-vaxxer-robert-f-kennedy-jr-president-2023-6">Jack Dorsey is backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an anti-vaxxer who called Anthony Fauci a fascist — for president</a> by Aditi Bharade (2023 June 5) Business Insider. </li> <li id="cite_note-121"><a href="#cite_ref-121">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/robert-f-kennedy-jr-his-anti-vax-conspiracies-found-home-twitter">Have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and His Anti-vax Conspiracies Found a Home?</a> by Caleb Ecarma (2023 June 5) Vanity Fair. </li> <li id="cite_note-122"><a href="#cite_ref-122">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/us/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-twitter-2024.html">Robert Kennedy Jr., With Musk, Pushes Right-Wing Ideas and Misinformation</a> by Reid J. Epstein, Alyce McFadden and Linda Qiu (2023 June 5) New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-123"><a href="#cite_ref-123">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2023/06/07/rfk-jr-crashes-the-techno-politics-party-00100836">RFK Jr. crashes the techno-politics party</a> by Derek Robertson (2023 June 7) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-124"><a href="#cite_ref-124">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/01/politics/tulsi-gabbard-cpac-ukraine-russia/index.html">What is Tulsi Gabbard actually doing on Russia?</a> by Chris Cillizza (2022 March 1) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-125"><a href="#cite_ref-125">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://reason.com/podcast/2022/01/12/michael-shellenberger-how-progressives-ruined-american-cities/">Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Ruined American Cities</a> by Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller (2022 January 12) Reason. </li> <li id="cite_note-126"><a href="#cite_ref-126">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nypost.com/2022/10/01/bidens-woke-green-energy-makes-us-dependent-on-china/">Biden’s ‘woke’ green energy is a joke that makes us dependent on China</a> by Michael Shellenberger (2022 October 1) New York Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-127"><a href="#cite_ref-127">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/author-michael-shellenberger-left-green-agenda-environmental-nightmare">Author Michael Shellenberger: The left's green agenda is an 'environmental nightmare'</a> (2022 October 4) Fox News. </li> <li id="cite_note-128"><a href="#cite_ref-128">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://48hills.org/2023/04/michael-shellenberger-who-says-progressives-ruin-cities-has-alarming-transphobic-tweets/">Michael Shellenberger, who says progressives ruin cities, has alarming transphobic tweets</a> by Tim Redmond (2023 April 3) 48Hills. </li> <li id="cite_note-129"><a href="#cite_ref-129">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/robert-f-kennedy-jr-conspiracy-theory-twitter-elon-musk-1234747479/">"RFK Jr. Blames Anti-Depressants for School Shootings"</a> by Miles Klee (2023 June 5) Rolling Stone. </li> <li id="cite_note-kornfield-130">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-kornfield_130-0">126.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kornfield_130-1">126.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kornfield_130-2">126.2</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/02/rfk-jr-california-ballot-american-independent-party/">RFK Jr. embraces California ballot nomination from party with history of far-right ties: The American Independent Party of California, which backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.</a> by Meryl Kornfield (May 2, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-131"><a href="#cite_ref-131">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://popular.info/p/gop-donors-fuel-rfk-jrs-presidential">GOP donors fuel RFK Jr's presidential campaign</a> by Judd Legum (July 17, 2023) Popular Information. </li> <li id="cite_note-132"><a href="#cite_ref-132">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/174371/rfk-jr-a-lot-gop-donors-someone-running-democrat">RFK Jr. Sure Has a Lot of Skeezy GOP Donors for Someone Running as a Democrat</a> by Tori Otten (July 17, 2023) The New Republic. </li> <li id="cite_note-133"><a href="#cite_ref-133">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/rfk-fundraising-republicans-00106481">RFK Jr.'s secret fundraising success: Republicans</a> by Jessica Piper (July 15, 2023) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-134"><a href="#cite_ref-134">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/14/bill-ackman-david-sacks-pac-donated-to-rfk-jr.html">Investor Bill Ackman, David Sacks’ PAC donated to RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign</a> by Brian Schwartz (July 14, 2023) CNBC. </li> <li id="cite_note-135"><a href="#cite_ref-135">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/07/rfk-jr-campaign-coffer-stuffed-by-gop-donors">RFK Jr.'s Campaign Coffer Is Getting Stuffed to the Brim by GOP Donors: Report</a> by Caleb Ecarma (July 17, 2023) Vanity Fair. </li> <li id="cite_note-136"><a href="#cite_ref-136">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/fec-filings-2024-pacs-donors/index.html">Takeaways from presidential super PACs’ mid-year financial disclosures</a> by Melissa Holzberg DePalo and David Wright (August 1, 2023) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-137"><a href="#cite_ref-137">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/republican-megadonor-fuels-rfk-jr-super-pac-rcna97195">Republican megadonor fuels pro-RFK Jr. super PAC</a> by Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez (July 31, 2023) NBC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-138"><a href="#cite_ref-138">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/28/american-values-pac-fundraiser-nicole-shanahan-00149628">Super PAC raises $2.1 million after RFK Jr. announced his running mate: Half that came from the super PAC’s co-founder.</a> by Brittany Gibson (03/28/2024 05:52 PM EDT) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-139"><a href="#cite_ref-139">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4563288-rfk-jr-nicole-shanahan-vaccine-skepticism/">RFK Jr.’s running mate Shanahan shares vaccine skepticism</a> by Nathaniel Weixel (03/29/24 9:42 AM ET) Politico. </li> <li id="cite_note-Wigglesworth-140">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-Wigglesworth_140-0">136.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Wigglesworth_140-1">136.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-16/armed-man-impersonated-u-s-marshal-at-robert-kennedy-jr-campaign-event-police-say">Armed man impersonated U.S. Marshal at Robert Kennedy Jr. campaign event, police say</a> by Alex Wigglesworth (September 16, 2023) The Los Angeles Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-141"><a href="#cite_ref-141">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/armed-man-arrested-rfk-jr-campaign-event-los/story">Armed man arrested at RFK Jr. campaign event in Los Angeles charged with misdemeanors: LAPD</a> by Abby Nicholas Kerr et al.(September 19, 2023) ABC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-142"><a href="#cite_ref-142">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/politics/kennedy-independent-campaign/index.html">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces independent run for president, ending Democratic primary challenge to Biden</a> by Aaron Pellish (2023 October 9) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-143"><a href="#cite_ref-143">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/politics/rfk-jr-aaron-rodgers-jesse-ventura.html">Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura Top R.F.K. Jr.’s List for Running Mate</a> by Rebecca Davis O’Brien (March 12, 2024) New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-144"><a href="#cite_ref-144">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://reformparty.org/reform-party-nominated-robert-f-kennedy-for-president/">Reform Party Nominates Robert F. Kennedy for President</a> by Nicholas Hensley (23 May 2024) Reform Party USA. </li> <li id="cite_note-146"><a href="#cite_ref-146">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-jr-sexual-assault-babysitter-response-1235052376/">RFK Jr. Doesn’t Deny Alleged Sexual Assault of Babysitter: ‘I Am Not a Church Boy’</a> by Charisma Madarang (2024 July 2) Rolling Stone. </li> <li id="cite_note-147"><a href="#cite_ref-147">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rfk-jr-says-he-has-skeletons-my-closet-after-sexual-assault-allegation-2024-07-02/">RFK Jr. says he has 'skeletons in my closet' after sexual assault allegation</a> by Stephanie Kelly (2024 July 2) Reuters. </li> <li id="cite_note-148"><a href="#cite_ref-148">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43682/the-sick-rose">The Sick Rose</a> by William Blake, Poetry Foundation. </li> <li id="cite_note-craig-149">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-craig_149-0">144.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-craig_149-1">144.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240509002819/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html">R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain: The presidential candidate has faced previously undisclosed health issues, including a parasite that he said ate part of his brain.</a> by Susanne Craig (May 8, 2024; Updated 5:15 p.m. ET) The New York Times. </li> <li id="cite_note-150"><a href="#cite_ref-150">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/Ohpls">President Biden in a debate.</a> by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (1:54 PM · May 8, 2024) Twitter (archived from 09 May 2024 20:32:52 GMT). </li> <li id="cite_note-151"><a href="#cite_ref-151">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240824140259/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/23/kennedy-trump-worm-humor-rfk/">RFK Jr.’s worm here: I guess I’m supporting Trump, too: There clearly is only one logical home for me in the 2024 election. I did not want to say so earlier for fear of alienating my host.</a> by Alexandra Petri (August 23, 2024 at 3:41 p.m. EDT) The Washington Post (archived from August 24, 2024). </li> <li id="cite_note-152"><a href="#cite_ref-152">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jlgyzzyz4o">RFK Jr denied NY ballot access over 'false' address, judge rules</a> by Brandon Drenon (13 August 2024) BBC. </li> <li id="cite_note-153"><a href="#cite_ref-153">↑</a> Allison Novelo. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-attempted-to-arrange-meeting-with-kamala-harris-sources-say/">RFK Jr. attempted to arrange meeting with Harris, sources say</a>. CBS News. August 15, 2024. </li> <li id="cite_note-154"><a href="#cite_ref-154">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAqVn5lRdes">RFK’s VP confirms they may drop out and endorse Trump. Inflation DNC | Nicole Shanahan</a> by Tom Bilyeu (Aug 20, 2024) YouTube. </li> <li id="cite_note-155"><a href="#cite_ref-155">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/nicole-shanahan-spent-almost-19-million-on-rfk-jr-s-failed-presidential-run-but-that-s-just-a-sliver-of-her-fortune/ar-AA1pkkXl">Nicole Shanahan spent almost $19 million on RFK Jr.'s failed presidential run but that's just a sliver of her fortune</a> by Brent D. Griffiths (August 23, 2024) Business Insider via MSN. </li> <li id="cite_note-trumpnegotiate-156">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-trumpnegotiate_156-0">151.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-trumpnegotiate_156-1">151.1</a> Katherine Koretski, Ben Kamisar, Henry J. Gomez, Garrett Haake and Dasha Burns. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-says-court-filing-endorsing-trump-ending-presidential-hopes-rcna165936">RFK Jr. endorses Trump after weeks of back-channel courtship</a>. NBC News. Aug. 23, 2024. </li> <li id="cite_note-157"><a href="#cite_ref-157">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/politics/kfile-rfk-jr-trump-critique/index.html">RFK Jr. compared Trump to Hitler and praised descriptions of his supporters as ‘Nazis’</a> by Andrew Kaczynski (November 21, 2024) CNN. </li> <li id="cite_note-158"><a href="#cite_ref-158">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFLiddell2024" class="citation web cs1">Liddell, James (2024-10-03). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/rfk-jr-trump-harris-taylor-swift-polls-election-b2623337.html">"RFK Jr's endorsement of Trump moved needle more than Swift's of Harris, pollster says"</a>. The Independent. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Independent&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr%E2%80%99s+endorsement+of+Trump+moved+needle+more+than+Swift%E2%80%99s+of+Harris%2C+pollster+says&rft.date=2024-10-03&rft.aulast=Liddell&rft.aufirst=James&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.the-independent.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Fus-politics%2Frfk-jr-trump-harris-taylor-swift-polls-election-b2623337.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-159"><a href="#cite_ref-159">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFGibson2024" class="citation web cs1">Gibson, Brittany (2024-09-27). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/27/rfk-background-state-ballots-00181481">"RFK Jr. removes himself from four battleground state ballots"</a>. POLITICO. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=POLITICO&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr.+removes+himself+from+four+battleground+state+ballots&rft.date=2024-09-27&rft.aulast=Gibson&rft.aufirst=Brittany&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com%2Fnews%2F2024%2F09%2F27%2Frfk-background-state-ballots-00181481&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-160"><a href="#cite_ref-160">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="Template:Sfnref" class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kennedy-supreme-court-ballot-michigan-wisconsin/">"Supreme Court rejects RFK Jr.'s bids to have his name removed from Michigan and Wisconsin ballots"</a>. CBS News. 2024-10-29. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=CBS+News&rft.atitle=Supreme+Court+rejects+RFK+Jr.%27s+bids+to+have+his+name+removed+from+Michigan+and+Wisconsin+ballots&rft.date=2024-10-29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fkennedy-supreme-court-ballot-michigan-wisconsin%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-kenngabb-161">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-kenngabb_161-0">156.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kenngabb_161-1">156.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kenngabb_161-2">156.2</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFCooper2024" class="citation web cs1">Cooper, Jonathan J. (2024-09-16). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-rfk-jr-tulsi-gabbard-821f0edcb154ebcc023c834aacc249a8">"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becomes a frequent campaigner for Donald Trump"</a>. AP News. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=AP+News&rft.atitle=Robert+F.+Kennedy+Jr.+becomes+a+frequent+campaigner+for+Donald+Trump&rft.date=2024-09-16&rft.aulast=Cooper&rft.aufirst=Jonathan+J.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Fdonald-trump-rfk-jr-tulsi-gabbard-821f0edcb154ebcc023c834aacc249a8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-162"><a href="#cite_ref-162">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFNazzaro2024" class="citation web cs1">Nazzaro, Miranda (2024-09-04). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4860996-robert-f-kennedy-jr-kamala-harris-donald-trump-2024-election/">"RFK Jr. rips Harris, says president should be able to 'put together' sentence in English"</a>. The Hill. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Hill&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr.+rips+Harris%2C+says+president+should+be+able+to+%E2%80%98put+together%E2%80%99+sentence+in+English&rft.date=2024-09-04&rft.aulast=Nazzaro&rft.aufirst=Miranda&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fcampaign%2F4860996-robert-f-kennedy-jr-kamala-harris-donald-trump-2024-election%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-163"><a href="#cite_ref-163">↑</a> [<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFBasu2024" class="citation web cs1">Basu, Zachary (2024-03-12). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/12/robert-hur-hearing-trump-memory-video">"Democrats play montage of Trump memory gaffes during Hur hearing"</a>. Axios. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Axios&rft.atitle=Democrats+play+montage+of+Trump+memory+gaffes+during+Hur+hearing&rft.date=2024-03-12&rft.aulast=Basu&rft.aufirst=Zachary&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.axios.com%2F2024%2F03%2F12%2Frobert-hur-hearing-trump-memory-video&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-164"><a href="#cite_ref-164">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFCooper2023" class="citation web cs1">Cooper, Jonathan J. (2023-12-25). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/article/robert-kennedy-rfk-independent-phoenix-ce8ef411c13bb7d5fc4ddff198cbbac9">"In battleground Arizona, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. draws Biden and Trump voters united by distrust"</a>. AP News. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=AP+News&rft.atitle=In+battleground+Arizona%2C+Robert+F.+Kennedy+Jr.+draws+Biden+and+Trump+voters+united+by+distrust&rft.date=2023-12-25&rft.aulast=Cooper&rft.aufirst=Jonathan+J.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Frobert-kennedy-rfk-independent-phoenix-ce8ef411c13bb7d5fc4ddff198cbbac9&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-165"><a href="#cite_ref-165">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.the-express.com/news/politics/155017/rfk-jr-donald-trump-mcdonalds">Mortified RFK Jr caught with Big Mac in Trump McDonald's 'hazing' after calling it poison</a> by Debadrita Sur (Nov 17, 2024) The Express. </li> <li id="cite_note-166"><a href="#cite_ref-166">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/8rAXY#selection-479.0-479.52">Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in</a> by Elon Musk (12:56 AM · Apr 28, 2022) Twitter (archived from 5 Mar 2024 17:57:02 UTC). </li> <li id="cite_note-168"><a href="#cite_ref-168">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8_Yj3bQ9s">Cocaine News with Don Jr.</a>] (May 5, 2024) The Daily Show via YouTube. </li> <li id="cite_note-171"><a href="#cite_ref-171">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFSamuels2024" class="citation web cs1">Samuels, Brett (2024-10-28). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4956319-trump-says-hell-let-rfk-jr-go-wild-on-health-and-food-in-potential-second-term/">"Trump says he'll let RFK Jr. 'go wild' on health and food in potential second term"</a>. The Hill. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Hill&rft.atitle=Trump+says+he%E2%80%99ll+let+RFK+Jr.+%E2%80%98go+wild%E2%80%99+on+health+and+food+in+potential+second+term&rft.date=2024-10-28&rft.aulast=Samuels&rft.aufirst=Brett&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fcampaign%2F4956319-trump-says-hell-let-rfk-jr-go-wild-on-health-and-food-in-potential-second-term%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-172"><a href="#cite_ref-172">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFBauerPress2024" class="citation web cs1">Bauer, Scott; Press, Associated (2024-10-15). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/rfk-jr-suggests-if-trump-is-elected-hell-play-significant-role-in-agriculture-and-health-policy">"RFK Jr. suggests if Trump is elected, he'll play significant role in agriculture and health policy"</a>. PBS News. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=PBS+News&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr.+suggests+if+Trump+is+elected%2C+he%27ll+play+significant+role+in+agriculture+and+health+policy&rft.date=2024-10-15&rft.aulast=Bauer&rft.aufirst=Scott&rft.au=Press%2C+Associated&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fnewshour%2Fpolitics%2Frfk-jr-suggests-if-trump-is-elected-hell-play-significant-role-in-agriculture-and-health-policy&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-173"><a href="#cite_ref-173">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFCollinsHolmesPellish2024" class="citation web cs1">Collins, Kaitlan; Holmes, Kristen; Pellish, Aaron (2024-11-14). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/14/politics/robert-f-kennedy-donald-trump-hhs/index.html">"Trump picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his Department of Health and Human Services secretary"</a>. CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=CNN&rft.atitle=Trump+picks+Robert+F.+Kennedy+Jr.+to+be+his+Department+of+Health+and+Human+Services+secretary&rft.date=2024-11-14&rft.aulast=Collins&rft.aufirst=Kaitlan&rft.au=Holmes%2C+Kristen&rft.au=Pellish%2C+Aaron&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2024%2F11%2F14%2Fpolitics%2Frobert-f-kennedy-donald-trump-hhs%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-174"><a href="#cite_ref-174">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFO2024" class="citation web cs1">O, Alejandra (2024-11-21). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5000679-rfk-jr-health-and-human-services-vaccines/">"do with vaccines as HHS chief"</a>. The Hill. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Hill&rft.atitle=do+with+vaccines+as+HHS+chief&rft.date=2024-11-21&rft.aulast=O&rft.aufirst=Alejandra&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fpolicy%2Fhealthcare%2F5000679-rfk-jr-health-and-human-services-vaccines%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-175"><a href="#cite_ref-175">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFLiddell2024" class="citation web cs1">Liddell, James (2024-11-22). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/melania-rfk-trump-diet-mcdonalds-b2651875.html">"Melania and RFK Jr join forces to try to improve Trump's diet"</a>. The Independent. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Independent&rft.atitle=Melania+and+RFK+Jr+join+forces+to+try+to+improve+Trump%E2%80%99s+diet&rft.date=2024-11-22&rft.aulast=Liddell&rft.aufirst=James&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Fus-politics%2Fmelania-rfk-trump-diet-mcdonalds-b2651875.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-176"><a href="#cite_ref-176">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="Template:Sfnref" class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-cabinet-robert-f-kennedy-jr-humiliation-rcna181026">"Ari Melber: RFK Jr. photo op shows embarrassment is the price of entry into Trump's circle"</a>. MSNBC.com. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=MSNBC.com&rft.atitle=Ari+Melber%3A+RFK+Jr.+photo+op+shows+embarrassment+is+the+price+of+entry+into+Trump%27s+circle&rft.date=2024-11-20&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msnbc.com%2Ftop-stories%2Flatest%2Ftrump-cabinet-robert-f-kennedy-jr-humiliation-rcna181026&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-177"><a href="#cite_ref-177">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFGuzman2024" class="citation web cs1">Guzman, Chad de (2024-10-21). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://time.com/7095424/donald-trump-mcdonalds-love-campaign-kamala-harris-work-history/">"Donald Trump's Long Love for McDonald's, Explained"</a>. TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=TIME&rft.atitle=Donald+Trump%E2%80%99s+Long+Love+for+McDonald%E2%80%99s%2C+Explained&rft.date=2024-10-21&rft.aulast=Guzman&rft.aufirst=Chad+de&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F7095424%2Fdonald-trump-mcdonalds-love-campaign-kamala-harris-work-history%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-178"><a href="#cite_ref-178">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFHosie2017" class="citation web cs1">Hosie, Rachel (2017-12-06). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/donald-trump-mcdonalds-order-revealed-two-big-macs-fillet-o-fish-chocolate-malted-shake-a8090716.html">"Revealed: Donald Trump's ridiculous McDonald's order"</a>. The Independent. Retrieved 2024-11-22.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Independent&rft.atitle=Revealed%3A+Donald+Trump%27s+ridiculous+McDonald%27s+order&rft.date=2017-12-06&rft.aulast=Hosie&rft.aufirst=Rachel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Flife-style%2Ffood-and-drink%2Fdonald-trump-mcdonalds-order-revealed-two-big-macs-fillet-o-fish-chocolate-malted-shake-a8090716.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-179"><a href="#cite_ref-179">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/29/scott-gottlieb-trump-rfk-hhs/">Trump’s former FDA commissioner warns RFK Jr. could ‘cost lives’ if confirmed: Scott Gottlieb said he’s worried that Trump’s pick to run HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will follow through on past antivaccine rhetoric.</a> by Dan Diamond (November 29, 2024 at 4:05 p.m. EST) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-180"><a href="#cite_ref-180">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/the-children-s-health-defense-team-fluoridation-must-end/">The Children's Health Defense Team: Fluoridation Must End</a> (January 9, 2019) press release, Fluoride Action Network, republished in Biospace, January 10, 2019. </li> <li id="cite_note-181"><a href="#cite_ref-181">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thewrap.com/youtube-takes-down-rfk-jr-interview-frogs-gender-jordan-peterson/">YouTube Takes Down RFK Jr. Interview Suggesting Chemicals in Water Supply Might Feminize Children Like They Do Frogs</a> by Dessi Gomez (2023 June 19) The Wrap. </li> <li id="cite_note-182"><a href="#cite_ref-182">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2014/03/10/did-the-new-yorker-botch-puff-piece-on-frog-scientist-tyrone-hayes-turning-rogue-into-beleaguered-hero/">Did The New Yorker Botch Puff Piece On Frog Scientist Tyrone Hayes, Turning Rogue into Beleaguered Hero?</a> by Jon Entine (2014 March 10) Forbes. </li> <li id="cite_note-prozac-183">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-prozac_183-0">175.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-prozac_183-1">175.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-prozac_183-2">175.2</a> <a href="#cite_ref-prozac_183-3">175.3</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-kennedy-jr-elon-musk-american-revolution-twitter-spaces-conversation-2023-6">Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compares Elon Musk to patriots who died fighting in the American Revolution, blames anti-depressants for mass shootings</a> by John Cook (Jun 5, 2023, 3:09 PM PDT) Business Insider. </li> <li id="cite_note-184"><a href="#cite_ref-184">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bsl.2429">The myth of school shooters and psychotropic medications</a> by Ryan Chaloner Winton Hall et al. (2019) Behavioral Sciences & The Law 37(5):540-558. doi:10.1002/bsl.2429. </li> <li id="cite_note-185"><a href="#cite_ref-185">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2000804117">Local exposure to school shootings and youth antidepressant use</a> by Maya Rossin-Slater et al. (2020) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117(38):23484-23489. doi:10.1073/pnas.2000804117. </li> <li id="cite_note-187"><a href="#cite_ref-187">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFButler2024" class="citation web cs1">Butler, Kiera (2024-07-24). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/rfk-jr-wants-to-send-people-on-antidepressants-to-government-wellness-farms/">"RFK Jr. wants to send people addicted to antidepressants to government "wellness farms""</a>. Mother Jones. Retrieved 2025-02-16.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Mother+Jones&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr.+wants+to+send+people+addicted+to+antidepressants+to+government+%22wellness+farms%22&rft.date=2024-07-24&rft.aulast=Butler&rft.aufirst=Kiera&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2024%2F07%2Frfk-jr-wants-to-send-people-on-antidepressants-to-government-wellness-farms%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-weber2-188">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-weber2_188-0">179.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-weber2_188-1">179.1</a> <a href="#cite_ref-weber2_188-2">179.2</a> <a href="#cite_ref-weber2_188-3">179.3</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/15/rfk-jr-views-conspiracies-false-claims/">10 RFK Jr. conspiracy theories and false claims, in his own words: Kennedy’s ascension to the nation’s top health job alarms medical experts.</a> by Lauren Weber et al. (November 15, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST) The Washington Post. </li> <li id="cite_note-189"><a href="#cite_ref-189">↑</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFAmenabar2024" class="citation web cs1">Amenabar, Teddy (2024-11-21). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/vJVFM">"RFK Jr. says he drinks raw milk. How safe is unpasteurized milk?"</a>. Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-11-25.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Washington+Post&rft.atitle=RFK+Jr.+says+he+drinks+raw+milk.+How+safe+is+unpasteurized+milk%3F&rft.date=2024-11-21&rft.aulast=Amenabar&rft.aufirst=Teddy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.is%2FvJVFM&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARobert+F.+Kennedy+Jr." class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-190"><a href="#cite_ref-190">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/kXxl9">https://ghostarchive.org/archive/kXxl9</a> by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (12:59 PM · Aug 26, 2024) Twitter (archived from 27 Aug 2024 16:44:03 GMT). </li> <li id="cite_note-bushker-191">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-bushker_191-0">182.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-bushker_191-1">182.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.salon.com/2006/06/03/kennedy_39/">Was the 2004 election stolen? No.</a> by Farhad Manjoo (June 3, 2006 12:00PM EDT) Salon. </li> <li id="cite_note-cleve-192">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-cleve_192-0">183.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-cleve_192-1">183.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/politics/articles/robert-f-kennedy-jr-nut-job">Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Nut Job</a> by Erick Trickey (August 27, 2008) Cleveland Magazine. </li> <li id="cite_note-jfkill-193">↑ <a href="#cite_ref-jfkill_193-0">184.0</a> <a href="#cite_ref-jfkill_193-1">184.1</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3993563-robert-kennedy-jr-sees-overwhelming-evidence-cia-involved-in-jfk-assassination/">Robert Kennedy Jr. sees ‘overwhelming evidence’ CIA involved in JFK assassination</a> by Stephen Neukam (05/08/23 11:57 AM ET) The Hill. </li> <li id="cite_note-194"><a href="#cite_ref-194">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-robert-f-kennedy-jr-joe-rogan-interview-cia-assassination-20230615-yqzbycgj3zh3hevrfsaaqvpk6a-story.html">RFK Jr. tells Joe Rogan he takes ‘precautions’ to avoid CIA assassination</a> by Brian Niemietz (June 19, 2023 at 4:04 PM EST) New York Daily News. </li> <li id="cite_note-195"><a href="#cite_ref-195">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5296702">Kennedy's Voice Draws Attention to Rare Disorder</a> by Lauren Cox (January 8, 2009) ABC News. </li> <li id="cite_note-196"><a href="#cite_ref-196">↑</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/11/08/robert-kennedy-jr-voice/">What happened to Robert Kennedy Jr’s voice and when did it change?</a> by Yasmine Leung (2022) HITC (archived from March 14, 2023). </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="75px_2024_United_States_presidential_election_articles_on_RationalWiki_75pxv_-_t_-_e-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; font-weight:bold;"><a href="/wiki/File:TrumpPortrait.jpg" class="image"><img alt="TrumpPortrait.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/TrumpPortrait.jpg/75px-TrumpPortrait.jpg" decoding="async" width="75" height="97" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/TrumpPortrait.jpg/113px-TrumpPortrait.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/TrumpPortrait.jpg/150px-TrumpPortrait.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2550" data-file-height="3300" /></a> <a href="/wiki/2024_United_States_presidential_election" title="2024 United States presidential election">2024 United States presidential election</a> articles on RationalWiki <a href="/wiki/File:Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg" class="image"><img alt="Seal of the President of the United States.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/75px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="75" height="75" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/113px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg/150px-Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2424" data-file-height="2425" /></a><div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:POTUS24nav" title="Template:POTUS24nav">v</a> - <a href="/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:POTUS24nav&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template talk:POTUS24nav (page does not exist)">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:POTUS24nav&action=edit">e</a></div> </div> <div class="hlist" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 0.15em 1.425em;">Issues: <a href="/wiki/Abortion" title="Abortion">Abortion</a> - <a href="/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">Democracy</a> - <a href="/wiki/Economy" class="mw-redirect" title="Economy">Economy</a> - <a href="/wiki/Inflation" title="Inflation">Inflation</a> - <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a>-<a href="/wiki/Hamas" title="Hamas">Hamas</a> war - <a href="/wiki/Project_2025" title="Project 2025">Project 2025</a> - <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>-<a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> war - <a href="/wiki/Taxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Taxes">Taxes</a> - <a href="/wiki/Undocumented_immigration" title="Undocumented immigration">Undocumented immigration</a> Republican Party: <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> (presidential nominee) - <a href="/wiki/J.D._Vance" class="mw-redirect" title="J.D. 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