Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to challenge Joe Biden in 2024 US presidential polls
1 min read . Updated: 06 Apr 2023, 10:01 AM IST
PremiumDemocrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.
Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country's most famous political families, is running for the US President post. He filed a statement of candidacy on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, according to The Associated Press.
The 69-year-old's campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination is a long shot. Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running in the Democratic race.
Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.
Over 15 years ago, he became fixated on the belief that vaccines are not safe. He emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.
Kennedy had been long involved in the anti-vaccine movement, but the effort intensified after the Covid-19 pandemic and the development of the coronavirus vaccine, AP reported.
His anti-vaccine charity, Children's Health Defense, prospered during the pandemic, with revenues more than doubling in 2020 to USD 6.8 million, according to filings made with charity regulators.
His organization has targeted false claims at groups that may be more prone to distrust the vaccine, including mothers and Black Americans, experts have said, which could have resulted in deaths during the pandemic.
A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trump's ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen, as per AP reports.
Kennedy has at times invoked his family's legacy in his anti-vaccine work, including sometimes using images of President Kennedy.
His sister Kerry Kennedy, who runs Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights group founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has at times removed some of the content at her request.
(With AP inputs)