Robert F. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has questioned Democrats’ rhetoric and asked what happened to their “they go low, we go high” philosophy. Speaking to reporters, Shanahan said the Democrats were “going lower and lower,” particularly in their criticisms of Mr. Kennedy’s decision to endorse former President Donald Trump.
Democratic strategist James Carville, for instance, ferociously denounced Kennedy and said he “fully disgraced” the memory of his father, the late Senator Robert Kennedy. Mr. Carville also suggested that Kennedy is in the midst of a “mental health crisis” and should be institutionalized.
Kennedy’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, was equally angered by her brother’s choice to back the former President and suggested he did so out of a “desperate need for affection and esteem and political power.” Ms. Kennedy added that she and other family members would “fight hard” to help Kamala Harris win November’s election.
Other members of the Democratic political dynasty expressed similar views. In a joint statement, Mr. Kennedy’s siblings said their brother’s endorsement of Donald Trump was a “betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.” Nevertheless, Trump’s new backer insists that his critics, including in the media, have not given the former President a “fair shake.”
At a press conference announcing his decision, Kennedy said he knew he had no path to victory and could not continue to ask his staff and volunteers to “keep working their long hours.” He blamed “relentless, systemic censorship” for his campaign’s lack of success, and repeated his view that the mainstream media is “controlled.” At some of his campaign rallies, Kennedy told supporters that he believes the CIA controls the corporate media and named NPR CEO Katherine Maher as an intelligence agency plant.
In exchange for his endorsement, Donald Trump has promised to look more closely at childhood vaccination – an issue close to Kennedy’s heart. Trump furthermore pledged to declassify all documents pertaining to the 1963 assassination of former President John F. Kennedy. Robert Kennedy has asserted many times that the CIA is implicated in his uncle’s death.
Mr. Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines, a lifelong Democrat, tweeted that she respects her husband’s decision, but he publicly professed that she is very uncomfortable with his chosen direction.
