Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said during a NewsNation town hall Wednesday that he’s “proud” to have former President Donald Trump’s tacit support.
He made the remark after being asked about all the support he’s receiving from the right despite him running in the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat.
“You say that you’re a Democrat, but you’re getting a lot of support from a lot of leading voices on the right like Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, former President Donald Trump,” town hall moderator Elizabeth Vargas said to him.
“Many Democrats fear that you’re a spoiler in the race, that you will damage President Biden in the primary and allow former President Trump to return to the oval office. This week, former President Trump said about you: ‘Kennedy is smart, and he’s a common-sense guy.’ What kind of man do you think Donald Trump is?'” she then asked.
Instead of taking the bait, RFK promptly replied with a lengthy lecture about the need for candidates like him to bring people together, not divide them.
Listen:
“You know, here’s what I’m not going to do in this race. I’m not going to attack other people personally. And I think what I’m trying to do in this race is bring people together and try to bridge the divide between Americans. And guess what? When my dad died and we took the train ride … it was a 2-1/2 hour ride, but it took 7-1/2 hours because there were 2-1/2 million people on that train track, and it was a cross-section of America. All the major urban stations in Trenton, Newark, Wilmington, Baltimore,” he said.
“There were black Americans singing ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ There were whites in the rural areas that were holding up signs ‘good bye Bobby.’ They supported my father in the primaries in 1968. Four years later in 1972, they were not supporting my father. Instead, the vast majority of them were supporting George Wallace. You know, my father was able to harness this populist energy. On the last day of his life, he won the most rural state in this country, South Dakota,” he added.
“He was able to bridge the divide among people who would otherwise be Republican but wanted someone who’s common -sense, who’s able to appeal to their idealism, who’s able to find the hero in each of them, who’s able to get them to transcend their narrow self-interests and see themselves as part of a community and part of of this incredible American adventure in modeling self-governance for the rest of the world,” he continued.
Finally, after lecturing Vargas for a few minutes, RFK got to Trump.
“And so I’m proud that President Trump likes me, even though I don’t agree with him on most issues. Because I don’t want to alienate people. I want to bring people together. I’m proud that all these people like me and that I have Independent supporters and Democratic supporters and that I’m able to bring a lot of people together,” he said.
He concluded his remarks by slamming his party, the Democrats, for being full of it when it comes to polarization.
“You know, every Democrat says I want to end the polarization, but how do you do that without talking to people who don’t agree with you? How do you do that without appealing to people? My purpose is to find the issues and values that we have in common other than focus on the issues and the personalities that keep us all apart,” he said.
His responses earned him loud accolades on Twitter, whereas Vargas’ question likewise earned her massive criticism.
Look:
If this man gets elected, America would 100% heal. But we all know that’s not gonna happen. I salute this man for his bravery and his dedication to bring forth truth and awareness to every American.
— Sempre Eritreawi (@dreadheadedER) June 29, 2023
im a conservative, but i truly like rjk jr. and i really like that he doesnt want to do the name calling thing. everyone, including trump, should just run on your strong points. and i do like a lot of what rfk jr is saying, as well.
— standard (@starskitty12) June 29, 2023
All they want to do is talk about Trump, and label people. They’re not interested in improving the lives of Americans or making America better. What a heinous group of people journalists are, and yes, what a really amazing answer.
— I Can’t Even (@PalleyKara) June 29, 2023
Ronald Reagan once said that if he and his opponents could agree on the issues 80% of the time, then he considered them a friend. We need more people like Robert Kennedy, Jr, who will bridge the gap. Our country is viciously divided right now.
— Davy Crockett (@CrockettDude) June 29, 2023
What so many Americans from all political persuasions want to hear.He’s killing it lately with this kind of thinking.Looking to the upcoming election,I was already fatigued w/ polarization before it’s even underway.Whether he’s successful or not, he’s been a breath of fresh air
— Eric Conner (@ericconnerlv) June 29, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.