RFK Jr. Campaigns For President In Annapolis, Offers Break From Partisanship

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a campaign stop Monday in Annapolis at the Vibe music venue, reports said. 

Kennedy Jr. recently broke his ties with the Democratic party, which his family has been a part of for decades. Kennedy Jr., now running as an independent, is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of former U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Reports said Kennedy Jr. called for an end to partisanship and corporate rule, offering a new approach to politics.

"Many of our political leaders are great people, but they're locked in this tribal grapple that does not allow them to think outside the box and does not allow them to find solutions that are actually good for America. They have to do what the party tells them to do," Kennedy Jr. said, according to WBAL.

WBAL and The Baltimore Sun both reported that Kennedy Jr.'s sister, Maryland's former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and three of their other siblings all oppose their brother's presidential campaign.

Kennedy Jr. has previously repeated debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, The Sun said, noting that his siblings think he has different values than the Kennedy's before him.  

The Sun said Kennedy Jr. has also called for a smaller military budget and less funding for Ukraine. He instead wants more spending on domestic programs. 

"The White House admits the big bills are going to come after the war ...We're going to pay for rebuilding Ukraine," Kennedy Jr. said, according to WBAL. "We need to rebuild this country."

An independent has never won the presidency in America's current two-party system. 

Kennedy Jr. announced his switch to an independent candidate early last month. That means there aren't many polls gauging how Kennedy Jr. would fare in the General Election.

Real Clear Politics is a nonpartisan aggregator of polling data. The website currently reports these average poll results in a hypothetical Donald Trump (R) vs. Joe Biden (D) vs. Kennedy Jr. race:

• Trump: 38.8%
• Biden: 40.0%
• Kennedy Jr.: 14.6%

"People are not convinced when President Biden says that he’s brought prosperity to the state of Maryland. They feel like they’re being gaslighted," Kennedy Jr. said, according to The Sun. "What I’m finding out, being six months out of talking to Americans [while campaigning], is that a lot of people want something different and they’re tired of the division."

To see footage from Kennedy Jr.'s campaign stop and learn about his push to get on the ballot in all 50 states, watch WBAL's video story.

To see reactions from Kennedy Jr.'s politically diverse crowd and learn about his Maryland roots, read The Sun's full article. That story is only available to subscribers, however.

Anybody with an Anne Arundel County Public Library card will soon be able to read the article by searching "Robert F. Kennedy Jr." at this link. The story was not yet available when Patch posted this article. There is a delayed share from The Sun to the library's database.

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