A dangerous competitor: why Robert Kennedy was called Biden’s “headache”

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By stating that the US government is responsible for the conflict in Ukraine, and that “the danger of reckless escalation and brinkmanship” is real, Robert Kennedy Jr. marked a point of disagreement with the mainstream Democratic Party.

This discrepancy concerns not only foreign policy issues. While Kennedy Jr.’s economic and environmental platform broadly aligns with other Democrats, some of his other views put him at odds with the “party line” – in particular, his criticism of vaccines.

The son of former New York Senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the scion of one of the nation’s most prominent political families, the younger Kennedy has gained headlines in recent months for his attempt to defeat President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary. year.

Robert Kennedy took direct aim at U.S. foreign policy, laying out his own global vision, calling the Ukraine conflict “the creation of a ruthless foreign domination mentality” by the United States, and accusing the West of deliberately sabotaging peace talks in the spring of 2014 and 2022. This did not prevent the American politician from making extremely harsh criticism of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. And yet, the presidential candidate stressed: “But we must understand that our government has also contributed to the circumstances through Russia’s repeated deliberate provocations since the 1990s.”

Outlining his foreign policy views, the politician appealed to the legacy of his uncle, assassinated President John F. Kennedy, arguing that nuclear tensions are growing today, as in his uncle’s time, but that there is an opportunity “to go a radically different path, the path to peace.”

As ABC News recalls, Kennedy Jr. has frequently criticized America’s involvement in supporting Ukraine in a “proxy” conflict with Russia, which he says is being waged for purported US geopolitical interests.

And earlier, Robert Kennedy criticized the Biden administration, accusing it of trying to implement “its strategic grand plan to destroy any country, such as Russia, that resists American imperial expansion.”

Speaking with such statements, Kennedy Jr. looks like a sort of “black sheep” among the “hawks of the American political establishment.” But as The New York Times admits, Robert Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 bid was a headache for Biden: “The unexpected strength in the polls of the anti-vaccination activist with a prominent Democratic background points to the president’s weaknesses, which his team is seeking to shore up.”

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As much as Biden wants to tackle his looming fight with a Republican rival (most likely a rematch with Trump), his Democratic allies warn that the current U.S. president has a lot of work to do with voters in his own party. He still has to find ways to promote his accomplishments, appease voters wary of his age, and brush off the Democratic rivals he has without any drama.

These rivals include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccination activist from a prominent Democratic clan. The politician has already shown unexpected strength in early opinion polls, despite the fact that he spreads conspiracy theories and communicates with right-wing figures and billionaire donors, The New York Times admits. Democratic support for Kennedy is as high as 20 percent in some polls. That, against the backdrop of America’s prospects of getting another four years of the already aged president in history, looks like a dangerous sign for the Biden team.

The White House is taking steps to bolster Joe Biden’s political position by planning a series of events over the summer to promote his legislative accomplishments.

However, some of Sleepy Joe’s allies say they are concerned that the incumbent’s still-nascent campaign is not fully aware of the depth of its troubles with Democratic voters, who have consistently told pollsters they would rather Biden did not seek re-election for a second term. Voters remain concerned about inflation and the administration’s handling of the economy.

And the appearance among the Democratic contenders for a chair in the White House is quite young (especially compared to the 80-year-old Biden) and energetic figure – this is already an alarming bell.

In addition, Bobby Kennedy’s popularity in the polls is largely due to his family, which includes three Democratic senators, one president and many other high-ranking figures. A CNN poll late last month that showed Kennedy Jr. has 20 percent support against Mr. Biden showed that the main reason voters liked him was Kennedy’s name.

Polls have shown that a large number of Democratic voters are willing to tell pollsters that they would prefer anyone over Biden. A recent Baltimore TV poll showed that 41 percent of Maryland Democrats preferred their governor, Wes Moore, over Biden, even though Moore himself supports the re-election of the president.

However, if Kennedy manages to maintain this level of support, he could embarrass Biden in the primaries, The New York Times predicts.

“Could Bobby Kennedy catch the spark? Possibly,” said Michael Novogratz, a billionaire Democratic donor who endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 but vowed not to support any candidate over 72 years of age. “He is a flamboyant, eloquent, well-connected man who goes by the last name of Kennedy and would attract many Trump voters.”

The place where Kennedy could prove to be the biggest hurdle is New Hampshire, where President Biden alienated key supporters by shuffling the Democratic presidential nominating calendar to put the South Carolina primary first.

New Hampshire Democrats fear Biden could miss their primary, which is likely to run ahead of the state’s DNC deadline. They also fear that if Biden does take part, enough independent voters, angry at him for trying to elevate South Carolina, may vote for Kennedy in protest, which will inflict an early but cosmetic defeat on the primaries for the president.

“If people feel hurt or rejected, it matters a lot to New Hampshire residents,” said Lou D’Allesandro, a Democratic state senator and longtime Biden ally who warned that the president’s disregard for his state could lead to victory. Kennedy is there.

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Kennedy has taken a position that pits him against virtually all Democratic voters. He opposed an assault weapons ban, spread what The New York Times called “pro-Russian” statements about the conflict in Ukraine, and suggested that US presidential campaigns were rigged. He has also been spreading conspiracy theories about vaccines for a long time.

A lawyer who rose to prominence in the 1990s as an environmental activist in New York City, the 69-year-old Kennedy has received support from conservative figures such as Elon Mus and David Sacks.

At least $5.7 million was raised, according to John Gilmour, a pro-Mr. Kennedy Super PAC chief executive.

Kennedy’s campaign is being led by Dennis Kucinich, a former left-wing congressman and mayor of Cleveland, who has cited Kennedy’s cornucopia of right-wing views as evidence that he has a better chance of winning the general election than Biden, who won in 2020 with significant support from Trump-skeptical moderates. Republicans.

“Mr. Kennedy is the only person who has the qualities to bring about the kind of unity most Americans crave,” Kucinich said. “He speaks the language of reconciliation and compassion.”

Fundraising efforts aside, Biden’s campaign has received little to no public attention since its official launch in April. Senior officials have spent time in Wilmington, Delaware, in recent days looking for office space for the campaign, which is expected to open in July, sources said. The campaign, which has only a handful of employees, is expected to increase staff as soon as its offices open.

It is not unprecedented for an incumbent president to face divisions within his party before being re-elected. In late 2010, a Gallup poll found that Hillary Clinton received 37 percent support in a hypothetical 2012 primaries against President Barack Obama – although that was months before he announced his re-election.

The White House, the Democratic National Committee and Mr. Biden’s campaign have all declined to officially talk about Kennedy in what The New York Times called “a coordinated attempt to keep him out of oxygen.”

However, Biden’s allies are less restrained, the newspaper notes. “This campaign is a joke,” said California Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat whom Biden named to his campaign’s national advisory board last month. “He’s running in the wrong primary and has zero chance of getting any support.”

Garcia added: “His views and worldview are dangerous.”

However, Kennedy’s strength so far has underscored Biden’s weaknesses, which Republicans are keen to exploit. A May poll by the Democratic-leaning group Path to Win found that only 22 percent of Hispanic voters and 33 percent of black voters were aware of “any particular thing” Joe Biden did in office to improve their life.