Who is Robert Kennedy Jr.? The 'Anti-vaccine campaigner' rearing to challenge Joe Biden

On Wednesday, April 5, Democratic politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed to run for the 2024 US presidential elections. As a Democratic leader, Kennedy will be running to fetch the Democratic nomination, making him challenge the current US President Joe Biden. While Kennedy has given several controversial stances over a plethora of issues, he is known for his association with one of America’s most famous families, the Kennedys. The 69-year-old is the nephew of none other than the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and the son of JFK’s slain brother Robert Kennedy, a best-selling author and environmental lawyer who is known for his controversial stance on vaccines and other wide-ranging issues. 

According to Washington Post, Stefanie Spear, a campaign spokeswoman for Kennedy, stated that the nephew of the former President is expected to announce his candidacy on April 19 at Boston Park Plaza. With the Wednesday filing, Robert F Kennedy became the second Democrat to launch his presidential bid against Biden, the first one to do so was self-help guru Marianne Williamson. While the current US President is yet to make an announcement for his White House bid, it is expected that the US President will run for re-election. The move by Kennedy did not come as a shock to many since he teased his candidacy on Twitter in March. “Help me decide whether to run for President,” he wrote on March 11. “If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race. If I run, my top priority will be to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class, polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned our children, and robbed us of our values and freedoms. Together we can restore America's democracy,” he added. Here’s a look at the life and controversies of the environmental lawyer and future presidential candidate. 

The life of Robert Kennedy Jr. 

Robert Kennedy Jr.  was born at the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, on January 17, 1954. He was the third of the 11 children of Senator Kennedy with his wife Ethel Kennedy. Kennedy pursued his academic aspirations at Harvard and the London School of Economics. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in American History and Literature, he went on to pursue law at the University of Virginia. According to The New York Times, the 69-year-old was once considered one of the top environmental lawyers in the country. 

The environmental lawyer later shifted his gears and started his second innings as an author. Kennedy has been an author since the late 1990s and early 2000s, however, his recent works attracted controversies. With the news that he is running for president, his past records and his problematic stances can come under fire. 

Anti-vax Stance and the dark past

Kennedy’s dismay against vaccines started around 15 years ago when he started getting fixated on the belief that vaccines are not safe. As an author, he wrote several books rejecting the importance of vaccines. According to The New York Times, Kennedy even went on to link childhood vaccinations to autism. In the year 2021 when the pandemic was at its peak, Kennedy wrote the book, “The Real Anthony Fauci”, in which he claimed that Dr Fauci who was Biden’s top medical adviser for the deadly coronavirus, along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has conspired with drug companies to profit from vaccines. However, his theories have been rebuked not only by medical experts but also by his very own family. 

The son of the American senator with the same name also has a dark past. Back in 1983, when Kennedy was an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, he was arrested and later pled guilty to heroin possession. According to The New York Times, Kennedy pleaded guilty to possessing the drug while he was aboard an airline flight to Rapid City. The 30-year-old lawyer back then was sentenced to 2 years of probation and community service. The sentence was not that severe since Kennedy was admitted to the New Jersey drug treatment centre just two days after the incident. However, no traces of drugs were found in his body. 

The Kennedy connection 

While Kennedy Jr. was the nephew of the 35th US President, his connections with the famous Kennedy family, soured due to his problematic stance on vaccines. Last year, his own sister Kerry Kennedy disowned the arguments propagated by her brother and stated that he is “fear-mongering”. “Bobby’s lies and fear-mongering yesterday were both sickening and destructive. I strongly condemn him for his hateful rhetoric. He does not represent the views of @RFKHumanRights or our family,” she wrote in June last year. According to The New York Times, two of his brothers who have passed away, have publicly rebuked him over his anti-vax stance. Another brother of a 69-year-old lawyer, Christopher G. Kennedy, asserted that he was startled by his invocation of Nazis. “I love my brother but could not disagree with him more,” he said in a statement as per the New York Times. Overall, Robert F. Kennedy emerged as a controversial figure in mainstream politics in recent years. Hence it will be interesting to see how his campaign trail will pan out. While Biden will be facing an immense challenge from former US President and Republican leader Donald Trump, it will be interesting to see how much popularity this Kennedy politician will manage to gain.