Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said on Friday he would suspend his campaign and endorse Republican Donald Trump. Robert, the nephew of former President John F Kennedy and son of Robert F Kennedy Sr., presented himself as an alternative to Donald Trump for the Republican Party in the US. And despite consistently poor polling numbers, Mr Kennedy often appeared in the news cycle for bizarre reasons.
Before postponing her entry into the White House and endorsing the former US president, Ms Kennedy ran a campaign that had moments many called disgraceful.
1. Brainworm
In May, The New York Times reported that what Mr. Kennedy believed was a brain tumor was actually the work of a hungry parasite. In a 2012 deposition during divorce proceedings from his second wife, he said a physician thought the anomaly in his brain scans was caused by “a worm that got into my brain and ate part of it and then died.” He indicated that he was suffering from extreme mental fogginess and memory loss, which had reduced his earning capacity.
2. Kennedy’s response to sexual harassment allegations
In July, a Vanity Fair article claimed that Mr. Kennedy had sexually assaulted a former babysitter of the family. Mr. Kennedy’s response to the allegations could hardly be considered an apology. During his appearance on the podcast Breaking Point, he said, “The (Vanity Fair) article is a lot of bullshit. Listen, I’ve said this from the beginning. I’m not a church guy. I’m not running around like that.” Later, he claimed he had messaged Connie to express regret for his actions.
3. Eating dogs
The same article also carried a photo of Mr. Kennedy smiling and pretending to bite into a cooked dog carcass. In an interview with NewsNation, he said the photo was actually of a goat he was about to eat. “I’m a very adventurous eater, I’ll eat almost anything. There are two things I won’t eat – yes, three. I won’t eat a human, I won’t eat a monkey and I won’t eat a dog. I think I’ll eat something else,” he said.
4. Kennedy said he “wouldn’t take sides on 9/11”
Mr. Kennedy declared that if elected president, he would “not take sides on 9/11” and would be transparent on social media. He claimed his statement was prompted by a “60 Minutes” report that said the Saudi government knew about the conspiracy in advance. He added, “It’s hard to tell which is a conspiracy and which is not.” He has previously offered other conspiracy theories about vaccinations, AIDS and the assassination of his uncle.
My View on 9/11: It’s hard to tell which is a conspiracy theory and which is not. But conspiracy theories thrive when the government routinely lies to the public. As president I will not take sides in the 9/11 or any other debate. But I can promise I will open the files…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (@RobertKennedyJr) July 5, 2024
5. Baby Bear
In August, The New Yorker magazine got a story about Mr. Kennedy’s adventure with a dead bear cub 10 years ago. To get ahead of the New Yorker’s news, Mr. Kennedy shared the story on Twitter. The story revealed that Kennedy had discovered a dead bear cub on the side of the road, then he loaded it into the back of his car, snapped a photo with the carcass, went on some hawk hunting and had a steak dinner. However, before leaving for the airport, he used the bear’s carcass to stage a death resembling a bicycle hit-and-run incident in NYC’s Central Park.
