Robert F Kennedy Jnr to run for president as an independent, abandoning Democratic candidacy
- Kennedy, the nephew of assassinated US president John F Kennedy, announced his independent candidacy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday
- Responding to the news, the Republican National Committee called Kennedy ‘a typical Democrat politician’ who was trying to fool Republican voters
Robert F Kennedy Jnr, the scion of one of America’s most prominent Democratic families, is dropping out of the race for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination and instead running as a third-party candidate.
“I’ve come here today to declare our independence from the tyranny of corruption, which robs us of affordable lives, our belief in the future, and our respect for each other,” Kennedy told supporters on Monday at an event in Philadelphia.
“But to do that, I must first declare my own independence – independence from the Democratic Party and from all other political parties. I haven’t made this decision lightly. It’s very painful for me to let go as a party of my uncles, my father, my grandfather and both of my great grandfathers.”
The move gives the 69-year-old lawyer and activist a more certain lot in next year’s general election. But it will still be tough for Kennedy to qualify for state ballots without a party apparatus behind him.
