# 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:** 27
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/521 "2024-06-28T14:35:40Z")
The winner of last night’s debate is probably RFK Jr. I’m guessing it will help his fundraising sufficiently to pay for enough TV ads to get him to the 15 percent of polling needed to be in the September debate. As I’ve said before, the more Kennedy’s views are known, the better it will be understood that he’s in Trump’s conspiratorial lane. So Biden’s poor debate performance could actually help the Democrats in November by splitting the conspiracy theory vote. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/522 "2024-06-28T14:47:41Z")
Once people actually hear him speak, he’s done, though. So, I don’t think he’ll have any effect on the election. It’s shallow of me, but I listened to an interview he did on NPR and really had to avoid changing the station due to his voice. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/523 "2024-06-28T15:22:05Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > The winner of last night’s debate is probably RFK Jr. I’m guessing it will help his fundraising sufficiently to pay for enough TV ads to get him to the 15 percent of polling needed to be in the September debate. > > As I’ve said before, the more Kennedy’s views are known, the better it will be understood that he’s in Trump’s conspiratorial lane. So Biden’s poor debate performance could actually help the Democrats in November by splitting the conspiracy theory vote. His views on a lot of things are pretty middle of the road. If he stays away from the looney parts he sounds like a regular candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/524 "2024-06-28T15:58:56Z")
You can’t tell a looney not to be looney. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/525 "2024-06-28T16:14:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You can’t tell a looney not to be looney. If you read his positions they don’t sound looney. Maybe unworkable but not looney. His positions on the main issues that are coming up don’t sound looney. Covid isn’t anyone’s priority now. His anti-corporate stance would appeal to left leaning more than right. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/526 "2024-06-28T16:30:22Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If you read his positions they don’t sound looney. If you read his carefully prepared and vetted positions he doesn’t sound as looney as he does when talks out loud. Unfortunately the solution to this, taping his mouth shut, just isn’t feasible. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/527 "2024-06-30T20:43:05Z")
He will be 71 on January 17th, which would make him the second-oldest person to be elected President. This seems like a trend the country needs to work on. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/528 "2024-07-02T07:10:14Z")
His running mate is putting forth the idea that what this country needs is a good exorcism: [RFK Jr.'s campaign has officially gone off the rails (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/rfk-jr-s-campaign-has-officially-gone-off-the-rails/ar-BB1pecs5?ocid=msedgntp&pc=NMTS&cvid=ea743b974acb4fa5aeb306055a14086d&ei=10) " A new [report in Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/nicole-shanahan-rfk-jr-demonic-1235046740/) lays out how Shanahan’s rhetoric about the two party-system has taken a dark turn. In [her pitch to the Libertarian Party](https://x.com/NicoleShanahan/status/1795087574051979345) in May, she argued that Kennedy could win because he “understands the deeply troubling, almost demonic forces that have overtaken our agencies, and our culture.” The hedge with “almost” does nothing to alleviate my concern that Shanahan seems to think Washington may need a literal exorcism. And in [a post on X](https://x.com/NicoleShanahan/status/1804695950176419953) last week, she published a list of 12 things she believes that the “uniparty hates” and “most Americans love.” (“Uniparty” is a [shorthand for the idea](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/17/steve-bannon-populist-ralph-nader-215839/) that the Democrats and Republicans are merely two faces of the same establishment party.) The list included “democracy,” “parents raising their kids,” “humanity,” and, at No. 7, “questioning if the government might be satanically possessed.” On the plus side, this probably means they will draw more voters from Trump than from B iden. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/529 "2024-07-02T09:40:56Z")
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: satanically possessed. - Bureau of Labor Statistics: mostly demonically possessed, except for Kirsten, the administrative assistant on the fourth floor. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2024, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/530 "2024-07-02T10:13:08Z")
I mean, let’s try the exorcism idea. Worst case, nothing happens. Best case, we lose Ted Cruz and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/531 "2024-07-02T13:43:49Z")
And he’s the baby in the room compared to Biden, Trump, Jill Stein, and Cornel West. Maybe the Libertarians will nominate someone not eligible for the full Social Security. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/532 "2024-07-02T14:07:45Z")
They, in fact, [did](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Oliver) – he turns 41 in August (even their VP candidate is “only” 63). ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/533 "2024-07-02T14:32:07Z")
she may have a point. i do enjoy the “almost” hedge. i’m fine with deadly sins of greed and power. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/534 "2024-07-02T22:06:52Z")
Wait, WHAT??? > **[Bizarre photo surfaces of RFK and ‘barbecued dog’: ‘The f--- is wrong with...](https://www.nj.com/politics/2024/07/bizarre-photo-surfaces-of-rfk-and-barbecued-dog-the-f-is-wrong-with-this-man.html)** > > "Kennedy told the person, who was traveling to Asia, that he might enjoy a restaurant in Korea that served dog on the menu." Even if “it’s not what it looks like” , even just alleged spit roasted dog looks bad. And really it’s the picture. I don’t care about the actual dog meat, to each their own, but the picture’s just beyond cringe, as the kids say today. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/535 "2024-07-02T22:12:36Z")
He should have got Governor Noem for his running mate, to lock up the entire dog-hating voting block. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/536 "2024-07-02T22:33:10Z")
Sooo, who benefits most from this nice little photo? Trump or Biden? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/537 "2024-07-02T22:35:40Z")
Is the photo real? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/538 "2024-07-02T22:42:00Z")
Is the photo real? Yes. RFK Jr confirms it, according to CNN. > **[RFK Jr. denies eating a dog while sidestepping sexual...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/politics/rfk-jr-eating-dog-vanity-fair/index.html)** > > Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has denied allegations made in a new Vanity Fair report that he had previously eaten a dog while sidestepping accusations of sexual assault levied by a former nanny in the magazine, saying,... However, he denies that it’s a dog, he claims that it’s a goat. > “The article is a lot of garbage. The picture that they said is of me eating a dog, it’s actually me eating a goat in Patagonia on a whitewater trip many years ago on the Futaleufu River. They say … they have an expert that has identified that as a dog carcass. It’s just not true,” Kennedy said. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/539 "2024-07-02T23:06:50Z")
Thank you. Yanno, If I was a political genius like RFKJ, and a story about my sexual assault(s) was gaining traction, I’d sure want to throw up a smokescreen about eating dogs. > It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Lets see how it works out for him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/540 "2024-07-02T23:12:20Z")
Where is the follow-up question: “So, you can tell the difference between goat meat and dog meat?”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=28)