# 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:** 31
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/601 "2024-08-05T16:09:36Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > When I first read the story I thought, “Falconry? Really?” In fact, [his Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#Personal_life) has an entire paragraph on his involvement in falconry. Which, as you note, probably isn’t surprising, given that he’s part of a blue-blood family. > [@](#): > > Kennedy is a licensed master [falconer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falconry) and has trained hawks since he was 11. He breeds hawks and falcons and is also licensed as a raptor propagator and a wildlife rehabilitator.[[311]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-312) He holds permits for Federal Game Keeper, Bird Bander, and Scientific Collector. He was president of the New York State Falconry Association from 1988 to 1991. In 1987, while on Governor [Mario Cuomo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Cuomo)’s New York State Falconry Advising Committee, Kennedy authored New York State’s examination to qualify apprentice falconers. Later that year, he wrote the _New York State Apprentice Falconer’s Manual_, which was published by the [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Department_of_Environmental_Conservation) and remains in use. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/602 "2024-08-05T16:10:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 1987, while on Governor [Mario Cuomo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Cuomo)’s New York State Falconry Advising Committee The things governments get up to. 🤔 ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/603 "2024-08-05T16:11:08Z")
I won’t lie, the falconry stuff is the first bit of info about him that makes him sound kind of cool. (For an absolutely nuts person pushing dangerous misinformation that causes real harm, that is.) ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/604 "2024-08-05T16:11:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > When I first read the story I thought, “Falconry? Really?” > > Then I remembered he was a Kennedy. I had the exact same thought process. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/605 "2024-08-05T16:22:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There are fewer things weirder that I can think of than being on your way to dinner at one of the best steakhouses in the world, seeing someone run over a bear cub, and thinking to yourself “Hey, free meat!” In rural areas, that’s pretty normal. If you hit a large animal with your car, you’re supposed to report it to the authorities, but generally you’ll get a choice of keeping the meat yourself or letting the authorities haul it off for donation to a food bank. Dumping it in Central Park and trying to make it look like a bicycle accident, though, yeah, that’s pretty weird. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/606 "2024-08-05T16:24:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The more I read about Junior the more he reminds me of the Rockefeller heir who got eaten by cannibals in New Guinea - too smart for his own good and too insulated from the consequences of his actions to realize when he’s screwing up. ^ This. Apparently he thinks the winning message to voters is _‘I’m privileged, shady, AND irresponsible!’_ Among the other disturbing aspects of this story is his conviction that leaving a large animal corpse in a public place, for government to have to deal with at taxpayer expense, is Trés Cool. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/607 "2024-08-05T16:31:20Z")
The fact that he works in wildlife rehabilitation is one of his few redeeming qualities. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/608 "2024-08-05T16:43:49Z")
RFK: “Some men see things as they are and say ‘why?’ I dream things that never were and say ‘why not?’” RFK Jr.: “I dumped a dead bear in Central Park because, why not?” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/609 "2024-08-05T18:00:52Z")
Might have had something to do with that worm that ate some of his brain. Man, could this get any stranger? Aaaccckkk. Why did I ask that? Jinxed it, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/610 "2024-08-05T19:57:20Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > and, to top it off, having your fly undone in the above picture Umm, what was he doing to that dead bear cub? 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/611 "2024-08-05T20:20:17Z")
It was going around bear naked. Not his fault. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/612 "2024-08-05T21:02:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In rural areas, that’s pretty normal. If you hit a large animal with your car, you’re supposed to report it to the authorities, but generally you’ll get a choice of keeping the meat yourself or letting the authorities haul it off for donation to a food bank. Seeing a dead bear on the roadside and bringing it home for meat is something I expect from Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, not someone who’s finishing up a long day of falconry with dinner at Peter Luger. And I really hope you’re kidding about the food bank part because that sounds monstrously unsafe and demeaning. Around here the food banks are supplied by grocery stores donating their unsellable-but-still-safe-to-eat inventory like cans with torn labels or misdelivered product, not dead animals someone found on the curb. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/613 "2024-08-05T21:15:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And I really hope you’re kidding about the food bank part because that sounds monstrously unsafe and demeaning. Around here the food banks are supplied by grocery stores donating their unsellable-but-still-safe-to-eat inventory like cans with torn labels or misdelivered product, not dead animals someone found on the curb. No, in rural areas where wildlife corpses like deer, moose, etc. on the roadside are fairly common, the game wardens will tag it and give it to the motorist who hit it or found it; if that person declines it it will go to the local food bank. This of course applies to fresh roadkill which will be butchered quickly. [For example.](https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/whitefish-food-bank-provides-1500-meals-using-roadkill_20160512152544582) ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/614 "2024-08-05T21:18:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > demeaning ‘We’re going to throw this in the dumpster… Hey let’s give it to the poors instead!’ isn’t demeaning? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/615 "2024-08-05T21:18:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So according to MAGA Jr.; > > > [@](#): > > > > In a video he posted on X, Kennedy said he had come across the bear in the morning when he was going falconing; a woman in a van in front of him hit and killed the bear. > > But according to the 2014 article; > > > [@](#): > > > > Sources told CBS 2 and WCBS 880 the bear had stab and slash wounds on its body. > > Someone’s got some explaining to do So nothing has surfaced about the stab and slash wounds? ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/616 "2024-08-05T21:21:32Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > ‘We’re going to throw this in the dumpster… Hey let’s give it to the poors instead!’ isn’t demeaning? “Here’s a chunk of a wild animal that could be riddled with disease and parasites and has been lying dead on the roadside for God knows how long” does, but this is veering off-topic. I’ve never been more glad to be a city boy. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/617 "2024-08-05T21:23:16Z")
[Plenty of people don’t find it demeaning to harvest roadkill.](https://www.themeateater.com/cook/foraging/how-to-salvage-roadkill) According to that site, picking up roadkill is legal in 30 states, although different states have different regulations around the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/618 "2024-08-05T21:28:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Umm, what was he doing to that dead bear cub? 🤪 For some reason I keep thinking about David Cameron and a dead pig. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/619 "2024-08-05T21:30:59Z")
Umm. No. Don’t eat roadkill. And bear, for the most part are an acquired taste. Not acquired by me. Never, ever. I don’t think food banks around here would take any wild meats. There are individuals who’ll take it, no questions asked. RFK,jr. Is a strange bird. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/620 "2024-08-05T21:32:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > but this is veering off-topic. Maybe you shouldn’t have yoinked the wheel if you didn’t want the thread to go into that ditch? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=32)