# RFK Jr Files to Run for President (Dropped Out on August 23, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260 "2023-04-06T16:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/361 "2024-04-18T22:14:38Z")
RFK and Shanahan will be on the ballot in Michigan this fall: [RFK Jr. makes Michigan ballot, where polls show independent voters favor him over Biden (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rfk-jr-makes-michigan-ballot-where-polls-show-independent-voters-favor-him-over-biden/ar-AA1nfXYH?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=94282b973eb44b60c089e94a9d1db545&ei=9) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/362 "2024-04-18T22:20:01Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > RFK and Shanahan will be on the ballot in Michigan this fall : > > [RFK Jr. makes Michigan ballot, where polls show independent voters favor him over Biden (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rfk-jr-makes-michigan-ballot-where-polls-show-independent-voters-favor-him-over-biden/ar-AA1nfXYH?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=94282b973eb44b60c089e94a9d1db545&ei=9) [MSN.com](http://MSN.com) courtesy of the _New York Post_. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/363 "2024-04-18T23:44:47Z")
The Associated Press confirms Kennedy has Michigan ballot access, so now I have to believe it ☹ > **[Robert F. Kennedy Jr. secures ballot access in battleground state of Michigan](https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-michigan-ballot-access-02ffeba594e0198ef74961c4b5c6c7f7)** > > Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has secured a place on the ballot in the battleground state of Michigan. Pennsylvania will be harder. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/364 "2024-04-19T15:12:27Z")
More than a dozen Kennedy family members endorse Jr in his presidential run. Oh wait, I read that backwards. > **[The Kennedys endorse Biden, not their family member RFK Jr.](https://www.npr.org/2024/04/18/1245530551/kennedy-family-endorse-biden-not-rfk)** > > The Kennedys have been critical of Robert F. Kennedy's third-party run, which has the potential to draw votes away from President Biden — who the family endorsed Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/365 "2024-04-19T17:06:10Z")
Some of his former colleagues are begging him to quit, as they have also gone on to support Biden… [Kennedy’s ex-environmental colleagues sign letter urging him to drop White House bid](https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4604949-kennedys-ex-colleagues-drop-bid/) _“In nothing more than a vanity candidacy, RFK Jr. has chosen to play the role of election spoiler to the benefit of Donald Trump — the single worst environmental president our country has ever had,” they write in the letter._ _A dozen environmental advocacy groups including the Sierra Club and Sunrise Movement published [a separate open letter](https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC4ojYl4V8OZIVZRFIkWhyDh9k8-2FzdZ-2F0VwMZgVwQ0t4fnyjhg954CqlZORzny07D2wRsqFmDXGPll8ciQ41F36l7-2B2AEwfOZGHtgNT5WGoxGqQxDt-2Fg3JZP-2BxEMrBOC4I39XbMck44u-2BNZyXpvsHgYc-3DXbZA_-2B0nnxg-2BLUnMXYeVcs0jGOxINqYHjSccyyzk6LbFnXWPZrReRR4yi2r0Iv5MQ8kMlb2O4O-2Fq7H0E0YeBmjNzRcowLcAYC3vgafnfIwPLEdlpi8fwnZgDfDpAiwcuhzQA7IbV41hEA2suxOMcPH9G2M3ELTN1LBr-2Bd87B5D98ZA4HzbWo-2BYN1fWT-2FItGlYdxtz0sSGBufhxfsaCk3e7V0GfGDleEh6TDZUeGD0j9e9W4gVI-2Bih1XfZ60LIO60oKNqgPLpL6sHW8YssqUupzJbb2B9lVuPWcl-2FzecayUSADyDPYlCmWj-2F4cWvYmUvGsii6sw2KmYnpL7sCnJoexyy9mfCLZN-2B86eV-2FH9PCAASt6odA-3D) Friday calling Kennedy a “dangerous conspiracy theorist and a science denier” and “denouncing RFK Jr.’s false environmentalist claims.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/366 "2024-04-19T17:44:06Z")
Good on them, but it won’t make a damn bit of difference. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/367 "2024-04-20T22:09:44Z")
That’s right–RFK Jr.'s ego is massive enough to let him ignore the words of even people he has, in the past, worked with on supposedly-shared goals. These people–Ralph Nader, Marianne Williamson, Jill Stein, Cornel West, etc.–always think some miracle is going to put them in that seat behind the Resolute Desk. (Though in the case of Jill Stein, there may be an additional element at work: money changing hands. It seems quite likely that she’s being paid, semi-directly, by Vlad.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/368 "2024-04-22T02:30:02Z")
Today an ad for Junior popped up on my feed. He’s claiming he’s leading both Biden and Trump on some polls. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/369 "2024-04-22T02:33:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > He’s claiming he’s leading both Biden and Trump on some polls. “Among a sample of anti-vax conspiracy-theory enthusiasts…” ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/370 "2024-04-22T02:35:12Z")
Theres a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/371 "2024-04-22T03:01:05Z")
Anyone happen to catch the Simpson’s reference this evening to “Robert F. Quimby, Jr.”? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/372 "2024-04-23T19:07:17Z")
Thanks to @JohnT for linking to **[this Public Notice article](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1308)**. **[Public Notice](https://www.publicnotice.co/about)** is liberal commentator and _Vox_ writer Aaron Rupar’s Substack page. Rupar has made his 4/17 interview with Democratic election wonk Simon Rosenberg “ **Why the Trump campaign is in deeper trouble than you think** ” free to view, so I will quote at length below. This section has very little filler for its length. Regarding JFK, Jr.: > **Aaron Rupar** : > _How worried are you about RFK Jr peeling votes from Biden, and how to you think Democrats should handle him?_ > > **Simon Rosenberg** : > It’s important when you talk about third party movements to recognize that the most important of them today is the “never Trump” or “never MAGA” movement, which is aligned with us. We could end up having very prominent Republicans campaigning with Biden, creating an enormous permission structure for Republicans who are not MAGA to either not vote for Trump or vote for Biden. That gets wildly glossed over in all the assessments of the election. > > The Republican Party has splintered after Dobbs. A big chunk of the party became loosened and is now available to us. We’ve seen this in the Haley data from earlier this year. And Trump, by attacking Nikki Haley, by telling Haley voters he doesn’t want them to vote for him — it’s among the most idiotic things any of us have ever seen in politics. > > Another huge vulnerability for Trump is we know from polling that 20 to 30 percent of Republicans say if he’s convicted they won’t vote for him. The splintering that’s happened in the Republican Party is far more severe than has been presented in the national discourse. > > Moving to RFK Jr., I think we learned lessons from 2000 and from 2016, which is that we’re going to have to engage and degrade these candidates and not allow them to become something that prevents us from winning the election. There’s already been very significant engagement with Kennedy coming from Biden world. There’s an outside organization being set up to do that as well. > > We’re going to have to take them on. And what’s really important for your readers to recognize is that none of these candidates are good or effective or capable. Robert Kennedy, when you listen to him speak, is a ludicrous political figure. He doesn’t scare me. He believes crazy things. I’ve never seen a politician get called out for lying on national television with video as much as I’ve seen happen to Kennedy in the last few months. He routinely gets confronted with past things that he said, where the anchor on air essentially points out that he’s lying. That sort of directness is almost unprecedented since I’ve been in this business because his lies are so epic and there’s so much video of him talking. > > We have a lot of ammunition to really degrade him. And my hope is that we win this election by enough that none of the potential shenanigans that are going to happen — the third party efforts, anything Trump may try to do with the electoral college or voting — none of these things will matter because it’ll be clear that we’ve won the election by a large margin. For your readers, the best way as a citizen to manage your anxiety about all this is to keep building up Joe Biden and the Democrats because the bigger that we win by, the less likely any kind of chicanery becomes successful. > > We also have to challenge the media not to sanitize RFK Jr.’s candidacy the way they’ve sanitized Trump. His candidacy is MAGA aligned, it’s Russia friendly. It’s a fraud. It’s not a presidential campaign, it’s an adjunct of the Trump campaign. It may actually be illegal because of its clear openness of coordinating with Trump. We now have video of one of their top staffers explaining how openly aligned they are with Trump. This is not an independent candidacy, it’s a MAGA candidacy. And we’re going to have to challenge the media very aggressively to not go along with the game and pretend this guy’s actually running for president. He’s running to take out Joe Biden. > > One of the most shocking things to me in the last few weeks has been how RFK Jr. has expressed open fondness for Putin and Russia in ways that alarmingly echo Russian propaganda. He’s used formulations about Ukraine and about domestic American politics that are formulations Putin himself uses this. Greg Sargent calls this imaginary world that Trump lives in “Foxlandia.” RFK Jr. is living in Putinlandia. So I do think there’s real urgency and a hunger to engage and degrade him. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/373 "2024-04-24T22:07:54Z")
> EDIT: **[Link to 4/24/2024 Quinnipiac poll](https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3896)** added. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/374 "2024-04-25T00:14:36Z")
> [@](#): > > We also have to challenge the media not to sanitize RFK Jr.’s candidacy the way they’ve sanitized Trump. Mainstream media fact checkers point out far more Trump lies than Biden misstatements. And mainstream media has called Trump statements “baseless” a vast number of times. When voters are convinced that you cannot trust normal ethical mainstream news outlets — the ones that value viewpoint diversity and bias minimization — they do not mostly move to the left — just the opposite. Mainstream media didn’t sanitize Trump, and are not sanitizing RFK Jr. Playing the mainstream media discredits news sources that provide information voters need to believe if they are going to vote against thr likes of RFK Jr… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/375 "2024-04-25T00:48:45Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Mainstream media fact checkers point out far more Trump lies than Biden misstatements. Yesbut- MAGAs call those fact checkers biased, and that they are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/376 "2024-04-25T13:48:46Z")
The media may report the DJT lies but in order to report the lie they have to say what it is. MAGAbots hear them describe the lie and swallow it whole and then dismiss the factchecking as media bias. Seems to me to be offsetting as they put fuel in the fires of both sides. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/377 "2024-04-25T18:36:55Z")
Wow! Well, in _that_ case…Go, Bobby, go! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/378 "2024-04-27T15:32:07Z")
Honeymoon’s over, boys. > **['I vehemently disagree': Trump supporters rebel against ex-president over his...](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-supporters-rebel-rfk-jr/)** > > Former President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Friday to tear down a candidate he hasn't frequently mentioned before: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Some of his supporters didn't like it."RFK Jr. is a Democrat 'Plant,' a Radical Left... > [@](#): > > “RFK Jr. is a Democrat ‘Plant,’ a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, get Re-Elected,” wrote Trump. “A Vote for Junior’ would essentially be a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him. Junior’ is totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look Conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet…” > > “His Radicalized Family will never allow him to be a Republican, and his Chief ‘Funder’ is the V.P. Candidate that nobody ever heard of, except her ex-husband, who’s been stripped of a big chunk of cash,” Trump continued. “She puts herself down as a businesswoman, or maybe a doctor, and actually, I guess you could say that she’s right. Her business was doing surgery on her husband’s wallet! She’s more Liberal than Junior’ by far, not a serious person, and only a Pot of Cash to help get her No Chance Candidate on the Ballot.” > > His rant extended to a [third post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112340327686462794). “I lived with RFK Jr. in New York and watched him convince Governor Cuomo to make Environmental moves that were outright NASTY. Upstate New York was not allowed to drill or frack as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others ripped off New York Energy. Because of this, prices have skyrocketed all over that part of the Country, but especially Upstate New York and New England. Their Energy Costs are the highest in the U.S., with the exception of California, run by Gavin Newscum, the Worst Governor in the State’s History. I’d even take Biden over Junior’, because our Country would last a year or two longer prior to collapse - But it would be dead either way. His Views on Vaccines are FAKE, as is everything else about his Candidacy. Let the Democrats have RFK Jr. They deserve him!” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/379 "2024-04-27T15:48:08Z")
> Upstate New York was not allowed to drill or frack as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others ripped off New York Energy. Because of this, prices have skyrocketed all over that part of the Country, but especially Upstate New York and New England. Donny? THAT’S NOT HOW OIL WORKS!!! ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/380 "2024-04-27T15:48:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > His Views on Vaccines are FAKE An interesting comment from him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=20)