Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday he will run for president of the United States as an independent, ending his Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden.
Kennedy made the announcement during a speech in Philadelphia where he claimed his aim was not only to spoil Biden and former President Donald Trump’s chances in the general election but to win it himself.
“They say my impact is only going to draw votes from the other candidates. The Democrats are frightened that I’m gonna spoil the election for President Biden, and the Republicans are frightened that I’m gonna spoil it for President Trump,” Kennedy said, according to CNN. “The truth is, they’re both right. My intention is to spoil it for both of them.”
Kennedy, an environmentalist lawyer and vaccine skeptic, has primarily campaigned on independent media shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and Tucker on Twitter. His policy platform centers on climate change, the high cost of living, foreign conflict resolution, and civil liberties.
“Today, we turn a new page in American politics,” Kennedy said, per CNN. “There have been independent candidates in this country before, but this time it’s going to be different. Because this time, the independent is gonna win.”
His campaign will take to Texas, Florida, and Georgia this month.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 14% of respondents would support Kennedy in a three-way race against Trump and Biden. Some 33% of respondents said they would support Trump, and 31% said they would support Biden.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed Kennedy’s campaign in a statement after his independent run announcement.
“Voters should not be deceived by anyone who pretends to have conservative values,” Cheung said of Kennedy, per the Associated Press. Cheung claimed that Kennedy’s campaign was “nothing more than a vanity project for a liberal Kennedy looking to cash in on his family’s name.”
Kennedy supporters, however, expressed excitement over his independent run, which they said could prove successful.
“He’s going to win,” Peter Pantazis, a 40-year-old business owner from Delaware, told the AP. “I’ve been praying that he’s going to decentralize the campaign, get away from the party system, and actually be the candidate of the people for the people. And that’s what he announced today.”
The last independent presidential race that proved impactful was that of Texas businessman Ross Perot, who won 8% of the vote in 1992.
