A whiner whines on his way out
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is expected to drop out and endorse Donald Trump
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to drop out of the presidential race by the end of this week, sources familiar with the decision tell ABC News.”[1]
If he does indeed drop out—this remains not entirely clear—Kennedy seems likely to endorse Donald Trump.[2] He is a fringe conspiracy theory-minded idiot who opposes pandemic mitigation measures,[3] but he does offer a critique of Kamala Harris’ nomination:
“Kennedy told ABC News regarding the Democratic convention and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, ‘I think it was a coronation, it's not democracy. Nobody voted. Who chose Kamala? It wasn't voters.’
“He also complained about the way his campaign has been treated.
“‘She went in four weeks from being the worst liability for the Democratic Party to the second coming of Christ without giving one interview, without showing up for a debate, without a single policy that anyone thinks isn't ridiculous,’ he said. ‘It's not democracy.’”[4]
Some of this is fairly obviously sour grapes. As has been reported as well of Donald Trump, Kennedy obviously preferred to run against Joe Biden, who flatly had no chance of winning, and in a two-party system, he was far less likely to win even than Biden, and he was always more likely to draw votes from Trump[5] than he is from, formerly, Biden or, now, Harris.
The complaint that Harris’ nomination process was not democratic is similarly pointless: Despite popular U.S. mythology, this is a constitutional oligarchy, styled as a “republic” by James Madison, who in Federalist No. 10 desired to protect the property of wealthy white males, often slaveholders, generally the only people who could vote and the people Madison trusted to rule, from confiscation by populist forces.[6] There is simply no resemblance between this and a (probably impractical) true democracy in which everyone, including people who aren’t wealthy white males, votes on everything.
Complaining about mainstream media is par for the course for extremists on either side—and frankly, I find it stupid and, on the left, hypocritical. These opinions are not generally formed from actual experience with or education in journalism;[7] they merely amount to plain bigotry, neglecting that absolutely no one is “objective;” everyone has biases; everything we imagine we see, hear, or otherwise sense passes through a perceptual filter; and no one has a “God’s eye” view. All this affects the veracity of mainstream media; it requires not that we ignore what reporters say, but to read them critically.
And I should be clear that none of what I say here is meant to excuse Fox News or other right-wing pseudo-journalistic outfits that have been mouthpieces for white Christian nationalism and its predecessors from the outset. Bigotry is bigotry, whether coming from or aimed at journalists or pseudo-journalists.
“Polls show that a Kennedy withdrawal would probably help Trump more than it hurts him. But if it does, it’s at the margins — though small margins have ended up deciding recent presidential elections.”[8]
The only way I could think of to make sense of Kennedy’s candidacy—not that I bothered to take it seriously—was as an attempt to use the Kennedy name (he’s been disavowed by the rest of his family[9]) to take votes from Democrats. That this has even a chance of succeeding reflects poorly on U.S. voters but is par for the course in an intensely and ideologically anti-intellectual society.
It was also possible he was just jobhunting. He reportedly approached both campaigns seeking roles in their prospective administrations.[10]
Whatever. He’s on his way out, one way or another. The sooner the better.
Update, August 23, 2024: The news came out in dribs and drabs,[11] but in the end, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., did pretty much the expected, suspending his campaign and endorsing Donald Trump.[12]
“Kennedy’s campaign withdrew its petition for ballot access in Arizona, and an attorney for the campaign filed a notice in Pennsylvania that Kennedy would withdraw there. In Ohio and Texas, which are red states, election officials said they received requests to withdraw his name from the ballot as well. However, in Michigan, election officials said that minor parties can no longer withdraw candidates. Election officials in other states — including Nevada, North Carolina, Utah and Colorado — said they have not received a request from the campaign or his political party to take his name off the ballot.
“‘My name will remain on the ballot in most states,’ Kennedy said. ‘If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or Vice President Harris. In red states, the same will apply.’”[13]
There is much to say about the institutionalized false dichotomy known as the “two-party system” that may be the one thing I agree with Kennedy on, but both major parties had accused him of playing a spoiler, which was about the only role he could play, and polling suggested he was drawing support from less than five percent of the electorate.[14]
[1] Aaron Katersky, “RFK Jr. expected to drop out of race by end of week, plans to endorse Trump: Sources,” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/rfk-jr-plans-drop-presidential-race-end-week/story?id=113028999
[2] Aaron Katersky, “RFK Jr. expected to drop out of race by end of week, plans to endorse Trump: Sources,” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/rfk-jr-plans-drop-presidential-race-end-week/story?id=113028999
[3] Sara Dorn, “RFK Jr.’s Family Denounces His ‘Dangerous’ Independent Presidential Bid—Just Minutes After Campaign Launch,” Forbes, October 9, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/10/09/rfk-jrs-family-denounces-his-dangerous-independent-presidential-bid-just-minutes-after-campaign-launch/; Avery Lotz and Erin Doherty, “RFK Jr. bashes Harris after reports he tried to ask for a Cabinet post,” Axios, August 15, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/08/15/rfk-jr-kamala-harris-cabinet-endorsement
[4] Aaron Katersky, “RFK Jr. expected to drop out of race by end of week, plans to endorse Trump: Sources,” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/US/rfk-jr-plans-drop-presidential-race-end-week/story?id=113028999
[5] Mark Murray, “How RFK Jr.'s exit would help Trump, according to the polls,” NBC News, August 21, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jrs-exit-help-trump-according-polls-rcna167539
[6] James Madison, “Federalist No. 10,” in Federalist Papers, ed. Garry Wills (1982; repr., New York: Bantam, 2003).
[7] My Bachelor’s degree is in Mass Communication (California State University, East Bay, 2005), my Master’s degree is in Speech Communication (California State University, East Bay, 2009), and my mother is a retired reporter.
[8] Mark Murray, “How RFK Jr.'s exit would help Trump, according to the polls,” NBC News, August 21, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jrs-exit-help-trump-according-polls-rcna167539
[9] Sara Dorn, “RFK Jr.’s Family Denounces His ‘Dangerous’ Independent Presidential Bid—Just Minutes After Campaign Launch,” Forbes, October 9, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/10/09/rfk-jrs-family-denounces-his-dangerous-independent-presidential-bid-just-minutes-after-campaign-launch/
[10] Avery Lotz and Erin Doherty, “RFK Jr. bashes Harris after reports he tried to ask for a Cabinet post,” Axios, August 15, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/08/15/rfk-jr-kamala-harris-cabinet-endorsement
[11] Jeremy Duda and Kelly Tyko, “Kennedy withdraws from Arizona ballot on eve of big announcement,” Axios, August 23, 2024, https://www.axios.com/2024/08/23/kennedy-shanahan-withdraw-candidacy-arizona-election-2024; Katie Bernard, “RFK Jr.’s team announces Trump endorsement in Pa. court filing, asks that Kennedy be removed from ballot,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 23, 2024, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/kennedy-pennsylvania-ballot-president-election-20240823.html; Aaron Pellish and Edward-Isaac Dovere, “RFK Jr. withdraws from PA ballot access challenge ‘as a result of today’s endorsement’ of Trump, per court filing,” Cable News Network, August 23, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/politics/rfk-jr-endorses-trump/index.html
[12] Meryl Kornfield, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump,” Washington Post, August 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/23/rfk-jr-trump/
[13] Meryl Kornfield, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump,” Washington Post, August 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/23/rfk-jr-trump/
[14] Meryl Kornfield, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump,” Washington Post, August 23, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/23/rfk-jr-trump/