# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/161 "2023-08-14T17:04:47Z")
He’s had a challenging life already. I feel sorry for him because he’s clearly not right in the head and I don’t think can comprehend what he is saying or how much of a clown he appears to be. You are right though, he’s brought all this on himself. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/162 "2023-08-16T00:52:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I feel even more sorry for his wife. I never liked her as an actress, but she doesn’t deserve to share in his shame if she’s not smart enough to divorce him. She’s got his last name now, I can’t see why she stays with him or what else she ever saw in him, but love and attraction make no sense and she can be forgiven on that basis. Why do you feel worse for her? I don’t understand. How do you know she isn’t either in on the grift, or believes all this crap? Is there a basis for why you think she’s not smart enough to divorce him? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/163 "2023-08-16T01:55:24Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Why do you feel worse for her? Because I’m a human being and I can feel some sympathy for someone who ends up having the whack job they married turning the bizarre dial to 11 and then switching on offensive hate mongering mode. > [@](#): > > How do you know she isn’t either in on the grift… I think she’s in on the Kennedy name grift and he’s ruining that for her. > [@](#): > > … or believes all this crap? She seems to be smarter than a tree sloth so I don’t think she believes it. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2023, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/164 "2023-08-16T08:39:49Z")
I mean, if that’s the case, then we’ll talk… but for “straight dope”, this seems like a lot of assumptions. ---
**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 16, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/165 "2023-08-16T16:53:07Z")
It occurred to me that as she has campaigned to help fight cerebral palsy, she could have been convinced by her husband that vaccines caused it. She is cagey about her own views. > **[Cheryl Hines Is Now an Anti-Vax Soldier for Her Husband, RFK Jr.](https://jezebel.com/cheryl-hines-anti-vax-robert-f-kennedy-jr-1850529235)** > > Hines commented for the first time on the terrible views of her husband and presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a New York Times profile. > “I see both sides of the vaccine situation… There’s one side that feels scared if they don’t get the vaccine, and there’s the side that feels scared if they do get the vaccine, because they’re not sure if the vaccine is safe. And I understand that.” > > “So if Bobby is standing up and saying, ‘Well, are we sure that they’re safe and every vaccine has been tested properly?’ That doesn’t seem too much to ask,” she continued. “That seems like the right question to be asking.” Ms. Hines tried to dodge several questions about her views on vaccines, including “Do you think vaccines are dangerous for children?,” eventually answering in a manner that didn’t criticize her husband or reveal much about her own opinion. She certainly **used** to be in favor of vaccines. > Hines had her own daughter vaccinated as a child and [appeared](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ-BS8o0Ag8) in a 2006 vaccine PSA—the same year she was introduced to Kennedy by _Curb_ creator Larry David. I wouldn’t have a ton of sympathy for her, she’s complicit in what her husband is doing. ---
**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 16, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/166 "2023-08-16T17:17:09Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > (Hines) is cagey about her own views. > “So if Bobby is standing up and saying, ‘Well, are we sure that they’re safe and every vaccine has been tested properly?’ That doesn’t seem too much to ask,” she continued. “That seems like the right question to be asking.” But that’s not the “question” her husband is “asking”. MAGA Jr. has said: “Vaccines are the only medical product that is not safety-tested prior to licensure”, which is one of his [many lies and deceptions](https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scicheck-factchecking-robert-f-kennedy-jr/). Hines has pushed back on a bit of this stuff, but still tolerates getting drenched by his firehose of misinformation. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/167 "2023-09-17T21:15:49Z")
[An armed man tried to pass himself off as part of RFK Jr’s security team and asked to meet with him.](https://abcnews.go.com/) I have two theories: genuine unbalanced person looking for fame, or RFK trying to make himself seem important by getting Secret Service protection? I know the second is very unlikely, since who would agree to be arrested just to pump up a minor campaign? All in all, if t was legit it had to be a little disturbing for RFK. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/168 "2023-09-30T00:49:17Z")
Junior is ditching his attempt at the Democratic nomination and running as an independent, which is probably not what the Bannon crowd were hoping for. > **[Robert Kennedy Jr to run as independent, could complicate Trump, Biden 2024...](https://www.rawstory.com/robert-f-kennedy/)** > > By Heather Timmons (Reuters) - U.S. presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will announce he is running as an independent instead of pursuing his long-shot bid to oust President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee, a shift that could... ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/169 "2023-09-30T01:19:45Z")
In spite of predictions by some Dems that MAGA Jr. will draw more votes from Trump than Biden (see following article), I find it easier to believe that significant numbers of dumbass Democrats enamored of the Kennedy name, past environmental cred and “rebel” image will abandon Biden, handing the election to Trump. Hope I’m wrong. > **[Robert Kennedy Jr to run for president as independent in 2024 – report](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/29/robert-kennedy-jr-independent-run-president-2024)** > > Scion of US political dynasty, who had been challenging Joe Biden for Democratic nomination, expected to announce on Sunday ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/170 "2023-09-30T02:07:01Z")
I am quite confident that Kennedy will be getting significant donations from Republican sources. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/171 "2023-09-30T12:03:59Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I am quite confident that Kennedy will be getting significant donations from Republican sources. That’s key because obtaining enough signatures for swing state ballot access is hard. As to whether this candidacy will help Republicans, I’m on the fence. One aspect I’m going over in my mind is how it fits in with Cornel West also running. Democrats who are looking for someone who refuses to arm Ukraine will have a purer play voting for West. Given how unpopular Trump and Biden both are, Kennedy should have an impact. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/172 "2023-09-30T13:21:00Z")
It will be very interesting to see which states the RFK campaign works the hardest for ballot access. If he’s working all 50 he’s a candidate. If he’s working only the marginal swing states, he’s an R stooge where the R’s have a clever plan to use him to apply just enough battle damage to Biden to make Trump the winner in those states, and thereby the EC as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/173 "2023-09-30T15:11:43Z")
I remember being worried in 2020 that they were going to successfully implement the “use Kanye West to strip off the Black American vote” strategy. I was thankful that that went absolutely nowhere - with any luck, this will be just as “successful”. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/174 "2023-09-30T16:34:01Z")
Yeah. For the folks who’ve actually voted for president a time or two before, the idea that 3rd party votes are a total waste of your vote is pretty well ingrained. To the degree any of these “plots” can succeed it would only be by pulling away potential first time voters, or very very _very_ low information voters. Who aren’t negligible, but probably aren’t decisive either. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/175 "2023-09-30T16:56:24Z")
Now that he’s running as an independent, it seems like a waste of money to donate to a stunt candidate. May as well spend on your preferred GOP candidate. It’s one thing if you think he can make it into the Dem primary and debates. It’s another if he’s just trying to get on state ballots. At least RFK Jr has the stellar guidance of Kucinich hot off the successes of his own presidential campaigns. I sure misjudged him back in the early days of this board. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/176 "2023-09-30T17:25:34Z")
[People’s Party Leadership Now Seems to Support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for President](https://ballot-access.org/2023/09/27/peoples-party-leadership-now-seems-to-support-robert-f-kennedy-jr-for-president/) > [@](#): > > Earlier in 2023, the People’s Party helped persuade Cornel West to run for president in the general election of 2024, and indicated it would back him. Then Cornel West did declare. He thanked the People’s Party for initiating the idea, but he said he would seek the Green Party nomination instead. Some good news here. The People’s Party seems to have had zero success in gaining ballot access in 2020. At least, that’s what Bard AI says. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/177 "2023-09-30T18:06:51Z")
There’s [some evidence](https://pro.morningconsult.com/analysis/robert-f-kennedy-jr-biden-2024-democratic-primary-polling) that MAGA Jr. is more popular among Republicans than Democrats. However, a Rasmussen survey reportedly found that 33% of Democrats might vote for him as a third-party candidate. Among the things he has in common with Trump is that he inspires devotion no matter what crazy, destructive things he says and does. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/178 "2023-09-30T18:13:54Z")
RFK is an anti vaccine nutter. While there are anti-vaxxers who usually vote D the current cycle has most of them in the MAGA camp. Some I guess could be upset that Trump waffles some on this, that Trump is not quite crazy enough for them. Biden though was never getting the anti-vax vote. We know now that even a very few votes in the important state can make the difference, so I wouldn’t say it is impossible for any RFK vote to be of impact. But the presumption that his being nominally D means anything is I think incorrect. He draws a couple of Trump voters to the more pure anti-vax candidate. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/179 "2023-09-30T19:07:56Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Some I guess could be upset that Trump waffles some on this, that Trump is not quite crazy enough for them. Watch those videos where Trump stood in front of a bunch of followers, touted his success getting the vaccines made, and got some boos. Those people booing are who I see supporting RFK. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260/180 "2023-09-30T19:14:18Z")
If RFK does end up getting even a few points of traction as an independent, I hope Biden and his team will highlight these kind of differences – something like “With all the flaws of Trump, at the very least I can give him credit for working with Congress and private enterprise to get COVID vaccines developed as soon as possible. Unlike RFK, I stand with Trump and support the efforts to vaccinate the American public to protect against COVID.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rfk-jr-files-to-run-for-president-dropped-out-on-august-23-2024/982260.md?page=10)