# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/101 "2023-07-17T16:06:48Z")
Just when you think this guy can’t get any worse, he gets worse [Opinion: RFK Jr.’s latest conspiracy theory is the last straw (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/opinion-rfk-jr-s-latest-conspiracy-theory-is-the-last-straw/ar-AA1dWOPN?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=18181f07121e46fd93b5267e7d3649c6&ei=15) He suggested that COVID-19 may have been deliberately engineered to be less dangerous to Chinese and Jewish people. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/102 "2023-07-17T16:40:38Z")
Which also isn’t statistically supported. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/103 "2023-07-17T17:18:23Z")
What a surprise! The RFK Jr. fan I know, and of whom I earlier posted, is in his late fifties. White guy of Lebanese extraction. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/104 "2023-07-18T13:06:23Z")
Statistics in the U.K. have shown Jews [suffering more heavily from Covid-19](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/30/jewish-deaths-in-the-uk-more-than-double-in-a-year-funeral-data-shows) than Christians. So the Conspiracy doesn’t seem to have been very well organized. /sarcasm MAGA Jr.'s supporters have been chanting “It’s twue! It’s twue!” in reference to the study he cited about ACE receptors and Covid susceptibility. That study was a) came out very early in the pandemic, b) was speculative, and c) has not been supported by real world data. His sister, Kerry Kennedy has denounced his remarks. He continues to be a giant embarrassment to the family.\* \*Poor Kerry. As if being married to Andrew Cuomo wasn’t embarrassing enough… ---
**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:** [July 20, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/105 "2023-07-20T20:28:56Z")
In a shocking turn of events, it turns out that MAGA Jr. doesn’t even believe his own bullshit, as he’s had his children vaccinated. > **['He vaccinated all his children': House Democrat blows a hole in RFK Jr.’s...](https://www.rawstory.com/he-vaccinated-all-his-children-house-democrat-blows-a-hole-in-rfk-jr-s-anti-vax-arguments-2662315856/)** > > United States Representative Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) blew a hole in Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine stance during a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government... ---
**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:** [July 20, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/106 "2023-07-20T23:49:54Z")
Actually, RawStory and Plaskett screwed up there. RFK Jr. is 69 years old. He only started making a name for himself in antivax circles around 2005, when his “Deadly Immunity” article appeared in Salon. So it’s entirely possible that he had his children vaccinated years before turning against immunization. A lot of antivaxers try to paint themselves as not being antivaccine using the same excuse - that they had their children vaccinated or received vaccines themselves (as if they had a choice when they were kids). “I’m not an antivaxer; I’m an ex-vaxxer” is a line you’ll see a lot. I enjoyed seeing Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz kick MAGA Jr.'s butt over his anti-Semitic blatherings. He should be nailed for lying under oath\*, though there’s little chance of that. \*“I wanna say this while I’m on the record that in my entire life … I have never uttered a phrase that was either racist or antisemitic.” “‘I have never been anti-vax” “I have never told the public to avoid vaccination” > **[ 'I Have Never Been Anti-Vax,' Says Lead Anti-Vaxxer RFK Jr](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/rfk-jr-testimony-house-congress-vaccines-anti-vax-1234792491/)** > > “I have never told the public to avoid vaccination,” Kennedy declared under oath.  ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/107 "2023-07-21T03:55:11Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Schultz I’m not a fan of Schultz overall, but damn. She grilled him. There was one thing she said that I thought he might consider to be a strawman to his point. It was something to do with the mask and what he said about the holocaust. Like; he was saying, I guess as a hypothetical, that if you wanted to hide from the government these days, it wouldn’t be as easy, or some wacky crap. He didn’t say that if you don’t comply to the rules set in place at the time, you’ll be put in death camps. Of course, to even compare the two so clumsily is ridiculous. I have no idea what the people I know see in this crank. ---
**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:** [July 22, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/108 "2023-07-22T19:56:31Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Statistics in the U.K. have shown Jews [suffering more heavily from Covid-19](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/30/jewish-deaths-in-the-uk-more-than-double-in-a-year-funeral-data-shows) than Christians. So the Conspiracy doesn’t seem to have been very well organized. It seems like a lifetime ago at this point but the othodox community in NYC was one of the hardest hit areas in the country. Unfortunately anti-vax is not exclusively right-wing. It’s always been an issue where conservatives and crunchy left-wingers meet. I hope he’s no more than a minor nuisance. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/109 "2023-07-23T16:39:14Z")
To show that he’s not an anti-Semitic bigot, RFK Jr. has announced [an event](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/robert-f-kennedy-fighting-antisemitism-championing-israel-tickets-674875449637) Monday (at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, no less), proving his bona fides by wrapping himself in the Israeli flag (and presumably wrapping around any Jewish person dumb enough to fall for his bullshit). And if that doesn’t work, RFK Jr. can announce that in solidarity with his Jewish brethren, he’s getting ritually circumcised by a mohel in a public ceremony on Times Square. ---
**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 23, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/110 "2023-07-23T17:09:28Z")
If he can move the circumcision venue to 5th Ave, maybe DJT can shoot him in public in front of many witnesses and we’ll be able to get rid of both of them at once. One can hope. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/111 "2023-07-23T17:52:48Z")
It would be a commendable bipartisan gesture. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/112 "2023-07-23T18:52:45Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > To show that he’s not an anti-Semitic bigot, RFK Jr. has announced [an event](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/robert-f-kennedy-fighting-antisemitism-championing-israel-tickets-674875449637) Monday (at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, no less), proving his bona fides by wrapping himself in the Israeli flag (and presumably wrapping around any Jewish person dumb enough to fall for his bullshit) It’s bound to work! Remember how Trump won over outraged Hispanics with this tweet? > “Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!” Of course, the real motive isn’t to appease the people they’ve insulted and endangered; it’s to make their supporters feel less bigoted: “See? I don’t hate Hispanics! I love Taco Tuesday!” “See? I’m not antisemitic! I love the Jewish flag or whatever that thing is.” ---
**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:** [July 26, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/113 "2023-07-26T21:36:23Z")
Hoo boy: > **[RFK Jr.'s campaign filings show payments to a litany of Republicans and...](https://www.aol.com/news/rfk-jr-campaign-filings-show-193338245.html)** > > Public campaign finance disclosures from Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign reveal numerous payments to individuals and groups whose ideologies differ significantly from traditional Democratic Party politics, a review... ---
**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:** [July 26, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/114 "2023-07-26T21:53:17Z")
I just saw a clip of him defending Russia and blaming the US for the invasion into Ukraine. This was in an interview with Sean Hannity. I hope he isn’t fooling too many people with his claim of being a democrat. I can’t stand him. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/115 "2023-07-26T22:17:12Z")
He also claims that a wild number of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war - 350,000 - which would work out at more than twice as many Ukrainian soldiers as Russia has claimed to have killed, and around fifteen times as many as the US estimates have been killed. I did a bit of digging around to try and find out where he might be getting his numbers from, but haven’t found anything. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/116 "2023-07-26T22:53:28Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > …where he might be getting his numbers from… Out of his… _nah_… never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/117 "2023-07-27T01:22:44Z")
I’m not going to impairment shame him, but can you imagine listening to that guy for 4 years? A SOTU speech would be an ordeal to sit through. ---
**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 27, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/118 "2023-07-27T01:27:42Z")
He’s running in the “At least I’m not senile Biden” lane. And in the “Former Rs that can’t quite stomach voting for Trump who will be the R nominee, but still lurves them some RW crazy” lane. Those are narrow and dead-end lanes. But they’re his lanes and he’s very proud of them. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/119 "2023-07-27T01:34:45Z")
Let’s hope they’re cul-de-sacs. ---
**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 27, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/120 "2023-07-27T01:48:10Z")
Yes, we can hope. I believe they are. To be clear, _I_ don’t think Biden in senile. I think that “Senile Biden” is the inseparable adjective-noun pair the RW propaganda-o-sphere has settled on for Biden. So that’s the noise that comes out of RFK’s face too. IMO RFK is part of the Reactionary Wacko Traitor effort to steal the election by whatever means. They have enough excess money to fund this moron to foment confusion and hoped-for crisis in the D party ranks. He probably won’t add much confusion, but it’ll be some. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=7)