Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did what many pundits predicted this week and announced that he was exiting the Democratic presidential primary race in order to run as an independent.
According to The Hill:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that he was switching from a Democrat to an independent as he looks to give new momentum to his long-shot White House bid.
“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate,” Kennedy told a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia.
“I must declare my own independence. Independence from the Democratic Party,” he said to loud cheers. “And from all other political parties.”
A lawyer and proud vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has formally rivaled President Biden from within the party since the spring, but he has not made a dent against the White House incumbent.
With just more than a year until Election Day, running as an independent positions him to challenge Biden and former President Trump, the current front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, while leaning on his anti-establishment platform and bypassing both parties’ primary rules.
Many leftists were apoplectic with anger over his decision, but perhaps none offered a more self-obsessed and sanctimonious take on the matter than filmmaker Rob Reiner.
He posted on X that he tried without success to talk Kennedy out of mounting an independent White House bid.
Bobby Kennedy Jr.’s announcement to run as an Independent is a dangerous and cynical move by wealthy Republicans to put Trump back in the WH. I talked with Bobby and told him that what he is doing could destroy American Democracy. He didn’t care.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 9, 2023
Funnywoman Roseanne Barr went all in with a response dripping in sarcasm:
You told someone that them running for
president will destroy America and they didn’t care about your opinion? Do they not understand that you’re a very smart man? That’s crazy. He should immediately drop out. As you know, democracy is dangerous to our democracy and we can’t let…— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) October 10, 2023
You told someone that them running for president will destroy America and they didn’t care about your opinion? Do they not understand that you’re a very smart man? That’s crazy. He should immediately drop out. As you know, democracy is dangerous to our democracy and we can’t let Americans vote for who they want. That would be pure fascism.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one who mocked Reiner’s post.
Good call on his part (@RobertKennedyJr) that he didn't care about your disconnected-from-reality opinion.
— M J Brunson (@MeJuBrun) October 10, 2023
Doesn't RFK Jr. understand that democracy means only two parties?
— Lou Perez (@TheLouPerez) October 9, 2023
Zero chance Kennedy took the time to chat with mr. Irrelevant.
— BuyTheCryptoDip (@BuyTheCryptoDip) October 10, 2023
As for the prominent Democrats who bristled at Kennedy’s decision to run outside of the two-party system, at least four of his siblings fall into that category.
Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today's announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country. @roryekennedy @joekennedy @KKT_Kennedy pic.twitter.com/WJfGwSxN1z
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) October 9, 2023
Here’s an update from Fox News:
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is speaking out after members of his family publicly denounced his decision to run as an independent.
Kennedy joined “FOX & Friends” Tuesday to discuss the “difficult” decision he made to leave the Democratic Party and maintained that he shares the values and views of his father and uncle.
“Leaving the party of my family is very, very difficult for me. But it was a choice that, I didn’t feel that I had a choice. And I feel it’s the right thing right now because we’re seeing that it’s the same corporate donors that control both parties, and the parties are in paralysis.”
Kennedy discussed what inspired him to run as an independent, saying “we need a strategy for unity” and “bringing people together” in America.
“I think we need somebody who’s going to find those areas of agreement, the values we agree on, rather than focus on these little issues that have us at each other’s throats.”
And a clip from his appearance on the network on Tuesday:
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