Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Robert F Kennedy Jr said on Monday that he would run for president as an independent, ending his long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has spread conspiracies about vaccines, has drawn support from Americans disaffected with the two-party system, while drawing upon the allure of his famous last name.
At a rally in Philadelphia, Kennedy attacked Wall Street, corporations, “Big Tech”, “Big Ag”, “Big Pharma”, the military-industrial complex and “the mercenary media”.
“I am here today to declare myself an independent candidate,” said Kennedy, nephew of the late former president John F Kennedy. “We declare independence from the two political parties — and the corrupt interest that dominate them and the entire rigged system.”
Democrats worry that Kennedy will pry votes from President Joe Biden in the election, even though Kennedy has gained more praise from Republicans such as Ron DeSantis than from some members of his own family.
He has appealed to those deeply sceptical of US aid to Ukraine and the US response to the coronavirus pandemic. Tim Mellon, a big GOP donor, gave at least $5mn to an outside group supporting Kennedy.
Other Kennedy supporters have included Patrick Byrne, the former chief executive of Overstock.com, and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, as well as a large contribution from a group funded by Silicon Valley investor David Sacks.
But the path for Kennedy to the Democratic nomination appeared nonexistent. Biden largely ignored Kennedy in the primary and led him by 47 points, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls. The vast majority of traditional Democrats view the current president as their best option against former president Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner.
Kennedy has also drawn criticism for espousing a number of conspiracy theories, including when a tape emerged of him claiming that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
Other third-party presidential candidates could also emerge as spoilers. The organisation No Labels has attracted deep-pocketed donors in its bid to provide a yet-to-be-determined alternative to Biden and Trump, who are unpopular. Cornel West, an African-American scholar and activist, recently switched his presidential campaign from the Green party to independent.
Additional reporting by James Politi
Read the full article here
