Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid, adding a wrinkle to a 2024 race heading toward a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, was running a longshot primary bid and has better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. It鈥檚 unclear whether GOP support would translate to a general election when Kennedy would also be running against Trump. Both Biden and Trump allies have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate.
Biden鈥檚 allies so far have dismissed Kennedy鈥檚 primary campaign as unserious. Asked for comment on his potential independent run, a Democratic National Committee spokesman responded with an eye roll emoji.
Awaiting Kennedy鈥檚 remarks Monday, hundreds of supporters gathered at Philadelphia鈥檚 Independence Mall, an apt location for the launch. Campaign signs teased a potential new slogan: 鈥淒eclare your independence.鈥�
Among Kennedy鈥檚 fans in the crowd were several voters who said they don鈥檛 identify as Democratic or Republican and view Kennedy as a truth teller and a breath of fresh air.
鈥淗e tells it how it is,鈥� said Julia Hill, a 23-year-old student from New Jersey. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 sound like a politician.鈥�
Other supporters, such as Brent Snyder, a disabled veteran from south Philadelphia, said they had voted for Trump in the past but were looking for a change.
鈥淭he last couple years I鈥檝e been noticing the Republican Party鈥檚 been going a way I didn鈥檛 like,鈥� Snyder said. 鈥淣ot that I agree with everything that鈥檚 happening to Trump, but I think right now he has more baggage than his country needs. The division right now is just terrible. We need someone to bring both sides together to make us work.鈥�
Monday鈥檚 announcement comes less than a week after the progressive activist Cornel West in favor of an independent White House run. Meanwhile, the is actively securing ballot access for a yet-to-be-named candidate.
Kennedy has spent weeks accusing the DNC of 鈥渞igging鈥� the party鈥檚 primary against him and threatening that he might need to consider alternatives.
In campaign emails and videos, he blasted the DNC鈥檚 decision not to host debates between Biden and other candidates and railed against the committee鈥檚 plan to give South Carolina rather than Iowa or New Hampshire this election cycle.
鈥淚f they jam me, I鈥檓 going to look at every option,鈥� he said in September at a New Hampshire barbecue held by Republican former Sen. Scott Brown.
Far-right and anti-vaccine influencers close to Kennedy also have sent strong signals on social media suggesting he should or will leave the Democratic Party. Last month, Joseph Mercola, an influential anti-vaccine doctor who is allied with Kennedy, ran a poll on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking if Kennedy should quit the party.
While Kennedy has long and frequently invokes his late father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail, he has built in recent years. He appeared on a channel run by the Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by Trump鈥檚 former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Polls show far more Republicans than Democrats have a favorable opinion of Kennedy. He also has gained support from some far-right conservatives for his fringe views, including his vocal distrust of COVID-19 vaccines, which studies have shown are safe and effective against severe disease and death.
Kennedy鈥檚 anti-vaccine organization, Children鈥檚 Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
