# 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:** 32
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/621 "2024-08-05T21:34:15Z")
Hey, know what would be fun? Flagging the mods for a hijack! JUST KIDDING MODS! (Oh shit, this is another hijack.) ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/622 "2024-08-05T21:38:13Z")
How did this thing about the bear come up anyhow? From the brief snippet I saw, RFK Jr posted it himself. At what point in the interview does he just decide now would be a good time to tell that story? Or did someone ask him “hey, did you ever do something really shitty that involves dead animals?” I did not think anyone was going to hear Kristi Noem’s stories and have a “hold my beer” moment. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/623 "2024-08-05T21:43:06Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > How did this thing about the bear come up anyhow? From the brief snippet I saw, RFK Jr posted it himself. At what point in the interview does he just decide now would be a good time to tell that story? Probably, they heard that someone who knew about the story was about to go public with it, so they released the news themselves so they could have some control over the spin. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/624 "2024-08-05T21:47:56Z")
I heard a reporter at Vanity Fair, I think, contacted him and asked if he wanted to make a statement about the story. So he decided to try to beat the story by telling a humorous tale with Roseanne Barr for public consumption. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/625 "2024-08-05T21:49:28Z")
It was the New Yorker. This article, in fact: > **[What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/12/robert-f-kennedy-jr-profile-presidential-campaign)** > > The third-party Presidential candidate has a troubled past, a shambolic campaign, and some surprisingly good poll numbers. I’m curious how the reporter dug that story up. Decade-old unsolved mystery that they somehow connected to the guy. Maybe there were rumors of his involvement? Or one of his drunk friends let it slip somehow? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/626 "2024-08-05T21:51:19Z")
Thanks for the correction. He was with several people that day. Someone took that picture. Maybe one of them doesn’t like him as much as he would like to think. ---
**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, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/627 "2024-08-05T21:55:47Z")
It was in the paper this morning. And CNN covered it. Apparently the bear being found in the park was news of the day, back then. (It seems his cousin, one of the Schlossbergs wrote an article about it back then, unawares. Heard that on CNN) ---
**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, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/628 "2024-08-05T21:59:06Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Maybe you shouldn’t have yoinked the wheel if you didn’t want the thread to go into that ditch? Indeed. I’ve spun off a new thread. > [@Giving roadkill to food banks - how is this a thing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giving-roadkill-to-food-banks-how-is-this-a-thing/1005298): > > Continuing the discussion from [RFK Jr Files to Run for President](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president/982260/613): Maybe this is the fact that I’ve always lived in cities talking, but the idea of giving roadkill meat to food banks just floors me. From a food safety standpoint, it doesn’t seem safe to eat meat that’s been lying out at ambient temperature for who knows how long - I mean, I’ll throw out hamburger meat from the store if I accidentally forget to put it in the fridge and it sits out for an hour. Ive had far too much education on … ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/629 "2024-08-05T22:09:11Z")
Those “surprisingly good poll numbers” The New Yorker cites have been dropping markedly. [https://www.axios.com/2024/08/04/rfk-jr-2024-election-harris-trump](https://www.axios.com/2024/08/04/rfk-jr-2024-election-harris-trump) It’s hard to see how the bear carcass embarrassment will hurt Junior significantly among his fans. They’ve already tolerated (or approve of) his loathsome antivax activities (that he’s lied about), 5G conspiracy theorizing, anti-Semitic crankery and denial that HIV causes AIDS (blaming the “gay lifestyle” instead). Why would a dead baby bear “prank” by a 60-year-old former heroin addict bother them? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/630 "2024-08-05T22:10:12Z")
Amazing that this still ranks _third_ in the “dead things in cars with a Kennedy, with ‘worst’ being #1” list. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/631 "2024-08-05T22:33:38Z")
So, back to P&E territory. RFK Jr seems to have lost the claim to “young blood” in the election now that Harris is the Democratic candidate. He’s probably lost all the Democratic voters who just wanted something different from Biden, and his positions seem limited to taking voters away from Trump (yes, he does have some cred on environmental issues, but he’s drowning it out with all his RWNJ points). And of course, traditional third-party “A plague on both your houses” are still his for the taxing, although that group isn’t exactly known to be motivated to actually get out and vote. So _right now_ 5AUG2024 IMHO he’s probably a net _benefit_ for Harris, as I suspect he’s taking more votes from Trump than her. Of course, I’d be happy if he dropped out and said he was wrong (blame the worm) and that any voters supporting him should instead vote for Harris as the lesser of evils if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/632 "2024-08-05T23:10:28Z")
Ya know? Sometimes I turn on the news, and see something _soooo_ fucking strange, that I question if I’m really awake, or on some kind of Nyquil-induced fever-dream bad trip. Unbearable at times. Other times, bear. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/633 "2024-08-05T23:50:31Z")
“But wait - there’s more!” pretty much summarizes everything now. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/634 "2024-08-06T00:05:05Z")
Wow, this story is even more bizarre than I could have imagined! Full details are in this Bulwark video where the hosts dunk on RFK Jr. for twenty minutes straight while going through the video line by line and pointing out the immense absurdities of this story: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9DWfL50y4uY/maxresdefault.jpg "MUST WATCH: The WEIRDEST Video Of The Campaign. Frame By Frame Analysis! | Tim & Sam") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DWfL50y4uY) ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/635 "2024-08-06T00:06:24Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > that I question if I’m really awake I heard it this morning half asleep and thought “REMEMBER RFK BEAR” so I could double check later that I wasn’t dreaming. ---
**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 6, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/636 "2024-08-06T00:37:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Amazing that this still ranks _third_ in the “dead things in cars with a Kennedy, with ‘worst’ being #1” list. You are a very bad person and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. ---
**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 6, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/637 "2024-08-06T00:37:59Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Wow, this story is even more bizarre than I could have imagined! Full details are in this Bulwark video where the hosts dunk on RFK Jr. for twenty minutes straight Oh, man, I can’t deal with watching a 20-min video on it. Any chance you could summarize any highlights? ---
**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 6, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/638 "2024-08-06T00:38:14Z")
The staging aspect makes the least sense. Not only was the scene he was trying to stage completely implausible (A bear cub in Central Park, killed by being hit by a bicyclist who then abandoned the bike at the scene), but it sounds like if he had just dumped the bear back on the shoulder where he found it he wouldn’t even have been doing anything illegal since he’s not the one who hit it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/639 "2024-08-06T00:46:08Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Amazing that this still ranks _third_ in the “dead things in cars with a Kennedy, with ‘worst’ being #1” list. Which reminds me of this thing: > **[Sunset sail with RFK Jr. from San Diego on April 11th](https://www.kennedy24.com/sunset_sail_with_rfk_jr_from_san_diego_on_april_11th)** Never get into a vehicle with a Kennedy! A watercraft is perhaps only the third-worst option after aircraft and automobile, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/640 "2024-08-06T00:47:38Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Oh, man, I can’t deal with watching a 20-min video on it. Any chance you could summarize any highlights? They really lean into how, after a long day spent hiking and handling dead animals, he just goes to a fancy steak house with showering, spends some more time handling the dead bear cub to set up the “bicycle accident,” then drives directly to the airport to catch a flight. At which point, he must have smelled absolutely disgusting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=33)