Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is challenging Joe Biden for president in 2024, according to the Associated Press.
Kennedy, the son of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy, filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
An environmental lawyer, Kennedy emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic which saw him becoming more closely aligned with Republicans and the far-right.
He signaled last month that he was considering a run for the presidency, writing on Twitter: “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.”
Kennedy joins Marianne Williamson in the Democratic primary challenging Biden. The president is yet to announce he is running for re-election. Aides told the AP that an announcement probably won’t come until at least after Biden returns from his trip to Ireland later this month.
Both Williamson and Kennedy Jr. are considered to be long shots.
[Image by Erik Pendzich/Rex/Shutterstock via The Guardian]
